I used to sleep better when I had my dog Cici. She would conk out and woof woof in her sleep, wag her tail and make other weird doggie noises and I’d laugh and conk out, too. When she was a puppy and also later, she loved to plop down, snuggle and cuddle, practically suffocating me during sleep. I often wondered what she was dreaming about. What do dogs dream about? I suppose she was chasing cats, rabbits, squirrels and/or playing with other dogs and/or eating. What else would she dream about?
Latest research claims that when dogs sleep, they are dreaming about their humans. ... ”Since dogs are generally extremely attached to their human owners, it's likely your dog is dreaming of your face, your smell and of pleasing or annoying you,” Dr. Deirdre Barrett told People magazine.
She loved to lie on her back and show off her belly during sleep, when she was awake, wherever she was.
Animal experts theorize that dogs dream during the REM stage and act on their dreams by twitching or moving all four paws as if they were chasing a rabbit. When they growl, they might be having a bad dream. But what about when they woof woof woof in their sleep? Do dogs talk in their sleep?
Dogs smile and here is how you can even make your dog laugh
Ok, enough of the doggie diversion.
I spoke to my cardio surgeon doctor yesterday, he kept saying I could die if no surgery (they've been telling me I am going to die for the past 4-5 years)...and won't give me a timeline... and it has been about 2 years, so time is of the essence before it could be too late to have surgery (basically what he said)...
I have severe aorta stenosis, tissue of the aorta heart valve thickens or becomes very stiff. I also have congestive heart failure. Symptoms include shortness of breath, especially when I lie flat in bed, unusual fatigue (extreme exhaustion), weakness, dizziness, fainting, swollen ankles, feet and belly. Doctors say TAVR surgery maybe, maybe not, complications due to age, weight, other factors (history of blood clots on lungs and breast cancer)
If they cannot do the TAVR they might have to do open heart surgery (SAVR), your heart is stopped and you will be placed on a heart and lung blood machine. Charming.
To find out if they can do the TAVR, I have to get a CT scan done (lying flat on back is impossible but that is how they do it). then he will know and their team will decide if it is too risky, will benefit me or not and he said I have to commit to doing this.
I've been committed to not deciding, procrastinating for more than a year about this and what he said did not help me sleep well last night.
But then I’m not alone.
“Sleep has emerged as one of the latest casualties of the pandemic, with Donn Posner, president of Sleepwell Associates and an adjunct clinical associate professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, calling the COVID-19 crisis a “perfect storm of sleep problems.
“With people around the globe facing unprecedented levels of stress and anxiety, ranging from financial worries and anxiety to loneliness amid social distancing, sleep quality suffers.
“The link between stress and poor sleep quality is strong, and as noted in the Journal of Sleep Research, “In the current global home confinement situation due to the COVID-19 outbreak, most individuals are exposed to an unprecedented stressful situation of unknown duration. This not only may increase daytime stress, anxiety and depression levels, but also can disrupt sleep
“75% of Americans reported experiencing stress in the past month that resulted in sleepless nights at least once.
“Sleep deprivation is extremely common and can weaken your immune system, accelerate tumor growth, accelerate diabetes and impair all aspects of your cognition; lack of sleep can increase your risk of dying from all causes.”
“Matthew Walker, professor of neuroscience at the University of California, Berkeley, and author of the book "Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams,” told WBUR:
“When you wake up in the middle of the night, typically we have this sort of Rolodex of anxiety that starts to flood back into our mind and we start to ruminate or catastrophize. Unfortunately, we know that it's a two-way street as well, that if you're not getting sufficient sleep or good quality sleep, you're more likely to feel anxious the next day, and it develops this vicious cycle.”
“Walker also states that coronavirus stress could be triggering strange dreams, particularly as people sleep in later in the morning, increasing the amount of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, during which dreams occur.
“REM sleep essentially provides the brain a form of overnight therapy [in which] dreaming helps process difficult emotional experiences. And we can think of that dream sleep like a nocturnal, soothing balm that takes the sharp edges off the emotional concerns and experiences that we're having whilst we're awake,” he said.
“According to one study, lack of sleep costs the U.S. economy up to $411 billion a year in lost productivity alone — and that’s during regular times, not a pandemic.
“Adults need an average of seven to nine hours of sleep a night, with most doing well with about eight. If you have trouble achieving this duration, or you wake frequently during the night, it’s time to take steps to improve your sleep.