“Sometimes I stay up so late that I have my morning coffee before I go to bed.”

September 4, 2008 4:01 PM

The Sleep Medicine Home Page: A comprehensive links and resources one-pager for both professionals and sufferers, resources regarding all aspects of sleep including, the physiology of sleep, clinical sleep medicine, sleep research, federal and state information, patient information, and business-related groups.
posted by nickyskye (11 comments total)

I hate to snark, especially about this (given that a friend is a sleep medicine doc), but how is this Web 0.5 page "best of the web" and why didn't you provide any context?
posted by scblackman at 4:26 PM on September 4, 2008

This page is not very well maintained. Half of the links I checked were broken.
posted by ...possums at 4:29 PM on September 4, 2008

I saw this better one recently on AskMeFi.
posted by jeffburdges at 4:42 PM on September 4, 2008

scblackman, in looking up information for a fellow MeFite about sleep paralysis, I noticed there were few sites with any decent collections of info about sleep and thought this would be a good contribution to the blue for people with sleep issues.

There are 16 dead links but about 140 links that are working.

Yes, the look isn't up-to-date, some people aren't good webpage designers, but a lot of the info available via those links is.
posted by nickyskye at 5:06 PM on September 4, 2008

Substance beats style any day. Thanks Nicky.
posted by netbros at 5:22 PM on September 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

zzzzzzzzz
posted by subgear at 5:31 PM on September 4, 2008

Sleep is for the weak.

I am weak. Very, very weak.
posted by sandraregina at 6:33 PM on September 4, 2008

You mean instead of endlessly hitting refresh on the Palin thread, or downloading bad sitcoms from tudou and youku, I could take a little pill and go to sleep like a normal person?
posted by BrotherCaine at 7:15 PM on September 4, 2008

If you set aside the incomparable cruelty and stupidity of human beings, surely our most persistent and irrational activity is to sleep...
posted by homunculus at 7:47 PM on September 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

[from Sleep Hygiene]:

"Try a light snack before bed. Warm milk and foods high in the amino acid tryptophan, such as bananas, may help you to sleep."

This recommendation is in regards to treatment for insomnia - which i've been afflicted with pretty much constantly for the past 15 years. I have heard conflicting things about the effectiveness of Tryptophan, that in some people it has to be consumed in such large amounts that the amount of food needed would be akin to gorging. Chances are the need to sleep after a thanksgiving day feast is more likely caused by the entire buffet of heavy starches that come along with the bird.

As far as i understand, Tryptophan is believed to be the precursor to the brain's production of Melatonin in the pineal gland. Melatonin on its' own is available over the counter, so i wonder why this page doesn't just recommend getting some if it?

That said, I wonder how many bananas they expect me to eat.

Personally, i'm always investigating ways to improve my ability sleep and have tried just about anything you can think of. Currently i find that Temazepam (30mg) and Diphenhydramine (50mg) are about what it takes to knock me out, but i wouldn't recommend this to anyone as a first step.

If you have to go the pill route for chronic insomnia, start with an over the counter synthetic hormone like Melatonin. Know that Unisom, Sleepinall and the bulk of over the counter sleep aids are literally just diphenhydramine (also known as Benadryl) rebranded. At the lowest dosage many people report positive results with Melatonin but as always there is some debate whether it is safe or not.

Better yet: ask a doctor to undergo a Polysomnogram before self-medicating with anything besides a bunch of bananas or a handful of turkey. This is the safest route for proper diagnosis. The process isn't very comfortable, and can be pricy without insurance coverage, but if sleeping disorders become serious it is worth it.
posted by phylum sinter at 7:53 PM on September 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

I have hardcore insomnia, but haven't found a decent specialist yet. I use Ambien regularly, but I'm waiting on Org 50081, since gaboxadol and indiplon are dead.
posted by StrikeTheViol at 10:43 PM on September 4, 2008 [1 favorite]