Disbelief and Fear in London

It’s almost impossible not to write about the riots that have been going on in London and the rest of the UK during the last 4 days and nights. The only connection I can make with sleep and the riots is that it makes me tired. Tired of the  destruction and tired of the violence. Tired of a system that cannot cope with poverty and its ramifications ( eg. 47% of all children living in Islington live in poverty), and simultaneously it’s a system that upholds the wealth of a few. I also get tired when I watch TV and see Teresa May saying that the people on the streets rioting are criminals, thieves, thugs, troublemakers etc. The young black man (who did not participate in the riots but is being screamed at as if he was by T. May) replied: I am not disagreeing with you but they are also part of our society. He has already thought a step further..something which seems an impossibility for the politicians. Their thinking is very square and only seems to work in a linear fashion event 1 equals 1 issue to deal with. It’s a bit more complex than that if you are at all interested in finding a solution.

I also get tired when I visit my local cornershop and hear that three shops on my road have had their shop fronts smashed. Then again, it could have been much worse but I have a feeling that my neighbourhood is not bling enough for these criminal opportunists. I listen but I get tired when my local cornershop’s sales man vents his anger: This country is corrupt, London is corrupt! It’s the way parents raise their children!  I sigh and give a half-hearted attempt at responding something about how the government let a lot of problems slide in between their fingers but I am thinking it’s just on the surface…the real issues behind the riots as far as I can gather is a feeling of despondence. A feeling that you as an individual don’t matter. You are not part of society. What’s the point of going to school? When you graduate you can’t afford the college/university fees to study further because you don’t have the money (9k a year just in tuition fees). What’s the point of learning a trade when there are no jobs? What’s the point of doing anything? when your parents are unemployed and do nothing themselves? They might not be able to read and write (ESOL cuts) but hey they have managed. Perhaps they have 4 jobs they commute to all over London just to be able to pay the rent which means you never see them and so you practically have to raise yourself (and your brothers and sisters). Perhaps your parents have an addiction to drugs or alcohol or a disability which means you have to be the main carer of the family. If your family circumstances are anything like these and you have no extended family to help,  it’s very easy to fall into the trap of socialising with the wrong crowds which eventually could lead to drugs and crime. Then again, there is no excuse for violence and there is no excuse for committing a crime.

What I don’t understand is the looting and breaking into shop and stealing eg. 10 pairs of shoes. What are you going to do with 10 pairs of shoes? well, there is always someone who will buy them I guess. Still, stealing like that or stealing in general presumes that you think that somehow you have a right to steal the shoes. Are you stealing for the financial profit? if so, you must be very stupid unless you have 10 Jimmy Choos and already have a buyer. Are you stealing for the thrill of it? Go LA (Looters Anonymous). Are you stealing to test boundaries? No, 10 pairs are too many to be testing what you can get away with…so is it the fault of the parents? Do they actively/passively condone thieving?  Or are they just absent?  An absent parent can’t raise a child.
800 people have been arrested and the youngest is an 11 year old girl in Nottingham. 800 is a huge number – I wonder if the courts have revolving doors? Make them all pay for the destruction in fines so that the taxpayers won’t have to, they will have a hard time after the Olympics anyway. The photo I have chosen for today (above) is taken in Soho this year. It’s has an uneasy feel about it, almost like a horror film.  A feeling of disbelief and fear, I think many Londoner felt earlier this week.

More: BBC News – David Cameron to further outline Riot Plans, BBC News – England Riots -Timeline, The Guardian: There is a context to the London Riots that can’t be ignored, Truly extraordinary speech by Fearless West Indian woman in the face of the Hackney Rioters, Google map of the Spreading Riots in London,

 

Tonight @10:45 PM – The Real Sleeping Beauty – BBC iPlayer

BBC iPlayer – The Real Sleeping Beauty.
Documentary about Louisa Ball and  Kleine- Levine syndrome is showing tonight 10:45pm on BBC1 – 9th August

 

Woman Wakes Up Thinking It’s 1992

Naomi Jacobs – A mum-of-one was left baffled when she woke up in the future – after a rare form of amnesia caused her to lose 17 years of her life. 

In 1992, Naomi started to experience TGA (Transient Global Amnesia) amnesia which manifests itself with a paroxysmal, transient loss of memory function. Immediate recall ability is preserved, as is remote memory; however, patients experience striking loss of memory for recent events and an impaired ability to retain new information. When Naomi ‘woke up’ in 2008, she still thought it was the summer of 1992, and that she was still 15 years old and just about to sit her GCSE’s.

She was horrified to learn she was living in the 21st century – and was mum to an 11-year-old boy she didn’t even recognise. Doctors warned Naomi that her body had been under so much stress, part of her brain had simply closed down – erasing her memories of most of her life. She had no concept of modern life – leaving her struggling to work a mobile phone, and baffled by the internet. Her worried family and friends struggled to help her adjust to 21st century living – and three years after waking up in the future, Naomi feels she has finally been able to adjust to her new life.
Naomi said: I fell asleep in 1992 as a bold, brassy, very confident know-it-all 15-year-old – and woke up a 32-year-old single mum living in a council house.

Link to original article here.

What I find interesting about this article is that amnesia, coma and to a certain extent death all use the language of sleep. We know that they very different in character and yet we use: ‘fell asleep’ and “woke up” to cover them all. Sleeping is a temporary condition, Coma – half permanent and death very permanent. Using the expressions: falling sleep and peacefully went to sleep, slumbered are all used to lessen a harsh and final emotional blow that hits when we lose someone close. Is it beneficial in reverse? And how does it affect our understanding and perception of sleep?

Laughing – a complicated pleasure

A few days ago, I really let myself go and laughed as much as could. I haven’t laughed like that for years, partly due to fear of loosing control of my body and partly because the electrical currents that roam around my brain hurt. It’s difficult to explain because it doesn’t feel like pain, perhaps more like a medium pained cramp and then it makes you absolutely exhausted. I am taking medication that is supposed to control cataplexy but it doesn’t so do it so well so I simply avoid genuine laughing, frustration, anger, centre of attention /surprise situations. In social situations, I don’t even think about it anymore – sometimes I just walk away, sit down or my speech gets slurred. People don’t tend to notice. My body reacts so violently internally on external stimuli and it’s hardly visible on the outside. Occasionally, it makes me feel strange – to carry around this burden (hidden disability) because so much in our contemporary culture exists on the surface.
Except from one or two, a majority of my friends have no idea how funny I can be. I would die of laughter 😉 if I didn’t practise self-restraint! I don’t have to vocalise my sense of humour to trigger an attack. It’s enough just thinking about it. Yes, I have had to learn to control my thoughts – how? I can hear you ask. Stop your mind racing – don’t think of anything. Or if something is triggering cataplexy think of the direct opposite. Not just think the thought – you have to feel and live the opposite thought so your brain registers it as reality. It helps me sometimes when I am in public places and I can feel my muscles start to weaken.
Anyway, so two days ago I had a friend over and I laughed hard for at least 30 minutes. I had to sit/lay in my bed because otherwise I wouldn’t have been safe. Laughing, having attack after attack after attack, then back to talking, laughing, more laughing and then attack attack laughing attack…. I got completely exhausted and my brain was hurting  but it was worth it. I was elated and deliriously happy in a way I haven’t experienced for years.

US Celebrities with Sleep Difficulties

Mariah Carey needs 15 hours of Sleep a Night

Health.com compiled a list of celebrities last week that all have difficulties with sleep, i.e. they don’t get enough of it or it’s obstructed by a parasomnia. 2 out of the 26 celebrities have narcolepsy, namely Jimmy Kimmel and Nicole Jeray.

Natalie Pinkham, British sports broadcaster and reality show competitor suffers from sleepwalking, night terrors, anxiety before sleep but after a visit to a sleep clinic in 2009, and the help of some medication she now sleeps soundly.

Restless Legs Syndrome: Keith Olbermann (US Countdown) and Jon Stewart (The Daily Show) suffers from Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS).It’s an absolutely exhausting condition. Although I only have gone through periods of RLS (in combo with other glorious parasomnias such as sleep paralysis, night terrors etc), I remember waking up in the morning, looking around my bedroom and being unable to move. My body was in pain as if I had been running a marathon or participated in an all-night boxing round. Eventually, you become more conscious and irritation and frustration starts to build up inside especially if you are trying to keep an appointment or get to work. There is nothing you can do but surrender – cancel/reschedule that appointment and get some rest. It’s ironic that you need to get some rest after a whole night’s “sleep”.  [QoS]

Sleep Apnea: Reggie White (NFL player) unfortunately passed away in 2004 at the age of 43 due to pulmonary sarcoidosis. He also had sleep apnea a sleep disorder that is a relatively common condition that affects men more than women. In the UK, it is estimated that around 4 in 100 middle-aged men and 2 in 100 middle-aged women have Obstructive SA. 3 in 4 remains undiagnosed. Could there be a link between sleep apnea and sarcoidosis? or between sleep disorders and sarcoidosis?

Rosie O’Donnell discovered that she suffered from Sleep Apnea after years of “loud snoring”. A doctor discovered that O’Donnell stopped breathing more than 200 times a night, sometimes for about 40 seconds.

Famous Nappers: Leonardo Da Vinci supposedly slept exclusively using power naps i.e. 15min naps every 4 hours. Apparently, it is possible for a human being to survive on 1,5 hours of sleep a day according to research but it’s not sustainable for longer than 2 months. I wonder where this snippet of information originates from? I can imagine that he worked and slept in this way whilst being immersed in a project, invention or only to return to a normal sleep cycle after completion. Thomas Edison called more than 3-4 hours of sleep a night a waste of time and is also known to have relied on cat naps. Winston Churchill is also a world-famous Cat Napper but every  time I point this out in social situations Martha Stewart also seems to favour a 4 hours a night approach. There are not enough hours in the day to sleep more…perhaps it was a good thing she was sent to prison for a 5months.At least she got the opportunity to catch up on her sleep.

Insomnia due to Hectic Lifestyle: Rene Zellweger, James Mercer (from The Shins),

Celebrities who have relied heavily on medicated sleep: Eminem, Michael Jackson, Heath Ledger

Difficulty sleeping because of Children: Jennifer Lopez, Brooke Burke, Brad Pitt

Diagnosed Insomnia: Cheryl Hines (Curb your Enthusiasm, HBO), Justin Chambers (Grey’s Anatomy), Louise Bourgeois

Outstanding Sleeper: Mariah Carey takes sleep to an entirely new level. She needs to sleep 15 hours a day and keeps several humidifier in her bedroom to ensure that her voice will be in tip-top condition to perform. She must be sleeping as much as Queen of Sleep. Only the majestic cat breaks her record with 18h of sleep a day.

Allergy Show at Olympia London 6-8th May 2011

Allergy Show – Free Admission eTicket Registration.

The UK’s largest annual gathering of people living with: allergies, skin conditions, eczema, migraines, coeliac disease, hay fever, asthma, food intolerances and chemical sensitivities.

If you are suffering from an allergy etc AND narcolepsy then you know how much of a pain in the backside it can be when you have to learn how to control both at the same time. I get hayfever in the summer and it makes me stay indoors during certain periods. It’s annoying when I know how much I need the sunshine…and how much I love the sunshine!

You can get a free ticket if you register on their website using the link above!

 

Queen of Sleep Blog will reach 10,000 visitors whilst at Narcolepsy Conference in Sheffield

What a coincidence that I will be in Sheffield at Narcolepsy UK’s conference when the blog’s visitor numbers reaches 10000. Thank you so much all of you that read Queen of Sleep and especially you who subscribe!

If you want to find out more about Narcolepsy UK’s Spring conference in Sheffield which is taking place tomorrow you can find it here.

If you can’t attend the conference I will do my very best to report back to you the most informative and entertaining parts of the day.  I hope I will do a better job of this tomorrow than what I did last year in Cambridge 2010. On Saturday afternoon I was starting to feel so out of it I had to miss the entire afternoon. Fingers crossed that everything tomorrow will go brilliantly. Not just for me but for the conference and for everyone attending too! I am hoping to meet some familiar and some new faces.

I will report back on topics such as: The EGM, What happens on Monday? GP Fund holders and the new landscape, Sleep hygiene and medication update (Dr. Paul Reading), Interactive session with Dr. Paul Reading, Advocacy Support: Where we got it right with Director John Cherry,Interactive session  on local groups/support groups, Update of the website and the new tools available to users, Help us help you: local fundraising for Narcolepsy UK and Summary of Conference and closing remarks with Chairman Bill Harris. During the morning and afternoon there will also be opportunities for 1-1 sessions on benefits as well as a presentation on The New Benefits Agenda. I will hope to cover most of the sessions above.

 

Celebrating the Birthday of Queen of Sleep: 1 year and 10,000 visitors

 

 

 

 

 

Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis: Jimmy Kimmel

Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis: Jimmy Kimmel from Between Two Ferns, Comedy Deathray, Zach Galifianakis, Jimmy Kimmel, and BJPorter.

If you have ever seen “The Hangover” or the HBO TV series “Bored to Death”, you are already very familiar with Zach Galifianakis. He has created an eccentric chat-show for http://www.funnyordie.com called “Between Two Ferns”

In this short he is interviewing American TV show host Jimmy Kimmel from “Jimmy Kimmel Live”. In his early 30’s, he was diagnosed with a mild form of narcolepsy. Today, he takes 1 tablet of Provigil – a day.

“You know how when you’re regular tired, your whole body is tired? With narcolepsy, just the inside of your head is tired. It’s like somebody’s gently sitting on your brain. You have almost no focus. All you’re thinking about is not falling asleep,” he told  “Esquire.” in 2003.

Reorganisation of blog, Spring Conference and Rare Disease Day

Dear fellow Queen of Sleep Snoozers,

Apologies for the recent changes and disarray of information on the blog. It will be sorted shortly to contain one page of practical links and one page of cultural (art, cinema, books) links in addition to the blog.

I will attend Narcolepsy UK’s spring conference in Sheffield on April the 2nd. If you are planning to go and think you recognise me – come and say hello and I will give you a Queen of Sleep badge. The conference is free to attend if you are a registered with Narcolepsy UK (and that is free too!). Register here.

Rare Disease Day 2011 is getting nearer. On the 28th, Rare Disease UK will be holding four parliamentary receptions across the UK to bring all those with an interest in rare diseases together to highlight the issue to politicians. They will also be launching a report outlining recommendations for a strategy for rare diseases, cumulating a year and a half of work gathering evidence. The receptions will take place in the:

Scottish Parliament – 22nd February 6:30pm – 8:30pm, Westminster – 28th February 4pm-6pm
Northern Ireland Assembly – 3rd March 12pm-2pm, Welsh Assembly – 16th March 12pm-2pm

There is still time to get involved! Interested? Click here. The membership with RD UK is free! Join here

Sleepy Cartoons: Sleepy from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Sleepy

Sleepy fits in his naps anytime and anywhere he can, but none of the other dwarfs ever complains. Maybe that’s because he works just as hard in their diamond mine as the others, albeit in a more relaxed fashion. In fact, he’s so relaxed, and yawns so widely, that the resident housefly keeps buzzing into his mouth in hopes of finding a nice warm home. But even on the perpetual verge of a nap, Sleepy turns out to be twice as observant as his fellows when it most matters. Strangely goaded and prodded by the forest animals outside their mine, none of the dwarfs can figure out what’s going on until Sleepy yawns, “Maybe the old Queen’s got Snow White.” Thanks to Sleepy, the dwarfs are soon off to the rescue. It’s not the first cartoon the sleepy character is smart or helps carry the story forward. Skalman in the Swedish Comic does also have a key role in solving puzzles as the stories progress. Perhaps there is an idea here that both Sleepy and Skalman thinks about puzzles or life in general in more dept and so manages to contribute to the group. The Snow White and the Seven dwarfs (corporate) personality test describes how to leverage some of Sleepy’s strengths which is to remind him that personal reveries are often unconscious approaches to solving the problem, and the more that this can be brought back to the group, the more successful will the group’s efforts be. The dwarfs are successful in helping to rescue Snow White thanks to Sleepy.

In the personality test Sleepy primary mode of living is focused internally, dealing with things rationally and logically.

Sleepy’s reveries have an adventuresome spirit. They thrive on action, and are usually fearless. They are fiercely independent, needing to have the space to make their own decisions about their next step. They do not believe in or follow rules and regulations, as this would prohibit their ability to “do their own thing”. Sleepy types value privacy and sometimes keep important issues to themselves. Adaptable and spontaneous, they respond to what is immediately before them. Sleepy people avoid making judgments based on personal values.

I obviously had to take the test to see if I was Sleepy but to my surprise the result said I was Happy.

If you want to take it too go here: Snow White Personality Test