Sleepwalkers Need Enough Sleep

Title:
Sleepwalkers Need Enough Sleep

Word Count:
335

Summary:
Lack of sleep does not only cause physical exhaustion. It may also lead to involuntary walking --- while a person is still fast asleep. This is one of the findings of a research team that studied the impact of sleep deprivation and how it can be associated with cases of sleepwalking.


Keywords:
sleepwalkers


Article Body:
April 1, 2008, Montreal – If you want sleepwalkers to roam around the whole night, deprive them of sleep. It may seem ironic, but a Canadian study of 40 sleepwalkers shows that when sleep-deprived, people have a greater tendency to sleepwalk.
According to University of Montreal’s Dr. Antonio Zadra and his colleagues, the study supports recommendations for sleepwalkers to “maintain a regular sleep cycle and avoid sleep deprivation.”
While sleep may seem like a steady state, it actually consists of 5 stages that cycle throughout the night. There are 5 stages of sleep including the REM (rapid eye movement) stage. A complete sleep cycle takes about 90 to 100 minutes and a regular sleep consists of 4 to 5 complete sleep cycles.
In Zadra’s study, sleepwalkers spent a night at a laboratory where they were videotaped. Researchers observed their movements while they were asleep. Most sleepwalkers don’t actually sleepwalk every night.
The researchers found out that many of the participants in the research had actually sleepwalked. Some of them did so more than once that night, for a total of 32 sleepwalking episodes.
On the following day, the participants were kept awake for 25 hours straight to find out how sleep deprivation would affect the sleepwalkers.
When they went to bed in the morning, they were all exhausted and were trying to get sleep at an unusual time. The researchers noted that after staying awake for 25 hours, the participants showed much different sleeping patterns compare to the night before. During their catch-up sleep period, 36 people sleepwalked for a total of 92 sleepwalking episodes.
This result brought Zadra and his colleagues to conclude that sleep deprivation may encourage sleepwalking in sleepwalkers. The findings could help in diagnosing and treating people for sleepwalking.
While this study didn't include a comparison group of people who have never sleepwalked, in the past work of Zadra’s team, however, they found that healthy people with no history of sleepwalking weren't more likely to sleepwalk when sleep deprived.
This study is included in the March edition of the Annals of Neurology.

BONUS : Title:
Sleepyheads Love Cookie Pancakes. Delicious cookie pancakes are even more fun topped with jam or whipped cream.

Word Count:
235

Summary:
Here's the newest way to serve up some fun at breakfast. Turn everybody's favorite fluffy pancakes into scrumptious Cookie Pancakes.


Keywords:
Sleepyheads Love Cookie Pancakes. Delicious cookie pancakes are even more fun topped with jam or whipped cream.


Article Body:
Here's the newest way to serve up some fun at breakfast. Turn everybody's favorite fluffy pancakes into scrumptious Cookie Pancakes. Think of the happy possibilities--Chocolate Chip Cookie Pancakes, Snickerdoodle Pancakes, Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes, with aromas guaranteed to get your sleepyheads out of bed and racing to the breakfast table.

All you do is add a few fresh ingredients to pancake mix and then get creative. The best news? These cookie pancakes are so delicious, your family can either dress them up with jam or whipped cream, or keep it simple on busy mornings and just grab some to go.

Breakfast has never been more fun!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pancakes

2 cups Krusteaz Buttermilk Pancake Mix

1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1/4 teaspoon salt

11/4 cups milk

1 egg

3 tablespoons melted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

In medium bowl, stir together pancake mix, brown sugar, chocolate chips and salt. Add milk, egg, butter and vanilla. Stir with a whisk until blended. For each pancake, pour 2 tablespoons batter onto lightly greased and preheated 375°F griddle (medium heat). Cook 11/2 minutes per side, turning only once.

Snickerdoodle Cookie Pancakes

Prepare chocolate chip cookie pancakes as directed, substituting 1 teaspoon cinnamon for the chocolate chips. Serve pancakes with additional butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar topping.

Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes

Prepare chocolate chip cookie pancakes as directed, substituting 3/4 cup rolled oats (quick or old-fashioned) for the chocolate chips and adding 2 teaspoons cinnamon.