Falling Asleep

Soon after the first speaker at graduation began his speech, the father of the valedictorian closed his eyes and fell soundly asleep. It was not surprising; he was reportedly able to doze off in any venue. Once he even tried a device to wear around his neck so that if he fell asleep at the wheel an alarm would sound and he'd avoid driving the car off the road or into another vehicle.

He suffered from undiagnosed sleep apnea.

Tuesday's Wall Street Journal described some of the causes of sleep deprivation and strategies to remedy them.

The first step of course is to recognize the symptoms: Poor concentration, daytime fatigue and drowsiness, irritability and unexplained appetite.

For example, like children who complain of hunger at bedtime, many adults feel hungry at 11 pm when instead they are tired and in need of sleep. The next morning they resort to caffeine to prop themselves up during the day. This habit exacerbates their twin problems of falling asleep and staying asleep throughout the night.

The further we get from our natural body rhythms the more likely we are to adopt unhealthy life styles.

It's noteworthy that as infants we cried as a means of expressing our discomfort. We expected our mothers to understand what we needed - food, clean clothes, comforting or simply being put to bed. A happy baby was one whose mother met those needs and did not confuse them.

Similarly, we are most content when we are able to differentiate among our various emotional and physical needs and not try to satisfy one at the cost of another. Then and only then will we be able to live life to its fullest.