insomnia

280406 - i went to bed at 5am and woke up at 7am with the sun shining brightly on my face, the courtesy of a good friend who suggested the idea of waking up in the morning with the sun shining on ur face, just reinforces how glorious, mornings are. yes, that is true, only if you wake up after 8 hours of sleep, feeling refreshed and all ready to face the day ahead. not true when you are rudely awaken by this bright light and left with only two meagre hours of rest for the rest of the day.

290406 - concussed in bed at 2am. woke up at 4am to the beeping sound of the hp, and a blurry image of the table lamp shining brightly, and chicken little dancing on the laptop screen. after a few smses here and there, i collapse back in bed, with my body feeling like it weighs a ton. then the hunger starts to set in, and the mind gradually becomes more and more wide awake. and the end result? sitting infront of the laptop at 6am to blog. wtf. this insomnia shit is not funny anymore.

I WANT TO SLEEP. I NEED TO SLEEP. LET ME FALL ASLEEP, BLARDEE BRAIN OF MINE!!!

eggsams update: three down...two to go. MNO - not too bad. Psych - killer as usual. Publications - the best so far.

one more week and i'll be out of here. sadly happy or happily sad? both the same i guess. what i'm gonna miss? the freedom i get from staying in the hostel. the wonders of having the internet to myself, a room of my own, and an aircon that i can leave on for the entire day. the numerous hours spent slacking in the canteen and most importantly, char siew wanton mee and fish and chips. i don't think i'll ever find such quality food for that two good bucks anywhere else but here. i MUST eat them everyday next week till i am sick of them. hur.

grad trip - zero plans.

damn it. i shall enjoy this glorious morning by taking a bath and cooking myself some breakfast before i start work....screw you insomnia.

and before i go........

bitch fest

last thurs was the official last day of school for me...omg...in three weeks time, my education journey will be over, and i have no foresight or whatever it's called of my future. while i am very much happy to leave this school, i'm also sad to be ending school. what lies ahead? i'm absolutely clueless. with the kind of degree that i am going to get...i don't see anyone wanting to hire me. whatever it is, i gotta face it.

now for exams..exactly one week away from today. have i studied?no. ok yes..a little bit. all because i'm still doing this bitch of a website project and i have no idea how to use macromedia dreamweaver :( my only worry for the exams right now is psych...will i pass it?!!?! i hope i do..if not it's one extra sem for me, and that is majorly wtf.

post-grad trip. i desperately want to get out of this country. but i have no idea where to go. europe seems to be out, since no one wants to go especially since it's so expensive, and i have no intentions of travelling ard tt place by myself and i don't think the amount of money my dad's willing to give me or loan me will be enough for that place. i know it's unfair of me to say this, because my parents pay for my travelling, but sometimes i'm really quite disappointed in my friends, because we have discussed one million times to go overseas together, but the plan never materialises, because yes i know...money is the main problem for them, and that certainly is not an easy problem to solve so i really shouldn't be bitching about it. i'm sorry once again..but i've had quite enough of listening to ok really let's go somewhere together..and at the end NOTHING happens.

then there are problems like this person does not want to go with that person...or we all just have different destinations in mind. so once again nothing happens. the only place on most people's mind right now is BANGKOK, and i cannot express how much i dislike that place. there is absolutely nothing for me to do there. ok...i can hear someone saying...you can go there and drink and eat because it is how cheap...but i don't want to pay 100 plus to go overseas to get wasted and i hate thai food. shopping sucks, because i am sorry that i am an amazonian woman and i just can't fit into anything bangkok offers.

so recently...a few people have expressed that they are interested in going to hong kong...which i absolutely love...and i seriously don't mind going there. but for now, i shall not keep my hopes high, because i expect to be disappointed all over again.

sucks...now i feel sore and depressed. and i think after everyone read this..they are going to hate me and then i will lose all my friends. haha...well i hope that does not happen!

i have been thinking the past few days, and i think i shall stop sharing my love with others, and keep it all to myself.

Happy Birthday Sin Yee!!

u see..after we have passed the 21yrs stage...all birthday greetings will just be Happy Birthday without the age included in it...for the simple reason that women do not want to reveal their age! hurhur. we had a simple celebration at subway in holland village, and i spent a bit of time bluffing her that i was in subway waiting for her, and refusing to go out to find her although she was quite very lost and couldn't find subway...all because i was hiding in coffeebean buying the cake and i didn't want to get spotted by her! this time round we took quite a bit of photos...argh my peanuts m&m and scholar bun face............

we brought a kid out that day.......charles.....that's him below....look how pleased that little boy is with himself in the pic on the right -_-"..reminds us of sinyee's bro and the photo he took of himself at my bday...
and because i am an idiot...i mixed up my days and forgot that it was my best friend's birthday...hence the pathetic cake...and the lighter for a candle......how very sad.......but i guess it beats not having a candle at all right?? actually there was one...but the girl forgot to put it into the box even though she told me tt she did...to think i went to buy a lighter!!! #%&!$%*...

we spent some time threatening to shoot cakes at each other with the stirrer which we used as a spoon...and i finally shot one spoonful at charles, because he said he would definitely block it with his spoon...but did that happen???? noooo...so it ended right smack on his face! HAH!

and to end the night...we had a bit of wine in charles' room...and below is the result of a little bit of alcohol in our immune system!

now...for my (or rather my family's) new possession.........

this we got after we spent like 4 hours in the ishop...this is really the coolest gadget on earth....but it's not set up yet, because we have some space problem at home...but i can't wait to lay my hands on them! tried to"con" my dad into buying me the ipod video....was quite close to success until he heard the price ...wah rau...siannerz...

sleep bruxism and i

oh goodnees gracious me...there goes my teeth :S been having nightmares of myself grinding my teeth, then spitting out chipped pieces of it. and then i wake up in shock..and realise my jaws are aching and my teeth are clenched to the max. so i think i have sleep bruxism because i have like 90% of these syndromes...i'm a problematic kid :( then again...i know someone else who suffers from this too!

Grinding of Teeth (Bruxism) During Sleep Associated with Other Disorders

The grinding or clenching of teeth during sleep on a weekly basis affects more than 8% of the population and is associated with other disorders such as daytime sleepiness and anxiety, according to a new study. The study, based on 13,057 participants in Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom, was reported in the January issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians.

The condition is known as sleep bruxism, an oral habit characterized by rhythmic activity of the jawbone muscles that cause a forced contact between dental surfaces during sleep. It has been linked to headaches, joint discomfort and muscle aches, premature loss of teeth, and sleep disruption for both the person with bruxism as well as his or her bed partner.

Study Methodology

The study, carried out in the three European countries, aimed to document the prevalence of sleep bruxism in the general population, the risk factors associated with the disorder, and its links to other health-related and sleep-related issues.

Prevalence is the estimate of a disease as a whole in a given population in a given time. It is usually based on a set of criteria for that disease that can be utilized in a questionnaire administered on a large scale. It does not require clinical evaluations.

The International Classification of Sleep Disorders (ICSD) suggests the following as minimal criteria for sleep bruxism: the presence of teeth grinding during sleep and, at least one of the following associated features - abnormal tooth wear, muscular discomfort, or sound associated with the tooth grinding. The participants in the study were divided into one of three groups: those who met the ICSD criteria, those with tooth-grinding alone, and those without tooth grinding.

Participants were interviewed by phone, with interviews averaging 40 minutes in length. The information gathered was entered into a Sleep-EVAL system, a software system designed to conduct epidemiologic studies on sleep, sleep habits, and mental disorders in the general population. Validation of the data was conducted at Stanford University's Sleep Disorder Center in Palo Alto, California and the Regensburg University Sleep Disorders Center in Germany.

Tooth grinding during sleep is classified as one of the parasomnias by the ICSD. It is found most often in non-REM sleep stages, mostly in stage 2, although it can occur in REM sleep.

Study Findings

Tooth grinding which occurred at least weekly during sleep was reported by 8.2% of the participants. More than 54% of those with tooth grinding reported some related problem, including 23% who said they needed dental work because of the grinding and 8% who claimed discomfort of their jaw muscles upon awakening. More than 23% said the grinding was loud enough for bed partners to hear it. The total, then, for all those in the study population who met the ICSD criteria was 4.4%, suggesting that bruxism is the third most common form of parasomnia following talking in one's sleep and snoring.

Snoring, breathing pauses during sleep, and obstructive sleep apnea were significantly more frequent in the sleep bruxism group and the tooth-grinding alone group than in the rest of the participants. The sleep-bruxism group reported significantly more frequent episodes of nocturnal awakenings, morning headaches, and a subjective sense of blocked breathing and choking during sleep. Obstructive sleep apnea showed a prevalence of 4.8% in the sleep-bruxism group, 3.4% in the tooth-grinding alone group, and only 1.4% in the non-tooth-grinding group.

The relationship between obstructive sleep apnea and sleep bruxism is usually related to an arousal response. The ending of an apneic event may be accompanied by a number of mouth phenomena, such as snoring, gasps, mumbles, and tooth grinding.

Sleep bruxism was also associated with daytime sleepiness. About one third of the bruxism group reported being sleepy during the day. There was no significant association with other sleep disorders, such as insomnia, restless legs syndrome, or periodic limb movement disorder.

Mental disorders, mainly anxiety disorders and hallucinations, were also significantly related to tooth grinding during sleep. About 69% of those with sleep bruxism related their condition to aggravation, stress, or anxiety. Daily use of alcohol, tobacco, or caffeine was also associated with sleep bruxism.

Researchers also noted that bruxism was unrelated to gender and decreased significantly with age. The highest prevalence was observed in the 19- to 44-year-old group, at 5.8%.

What are the Risks?

Speaking on behalf of his colleagues, Maurice M. Ohayon, M.D., Stanford University School of Medicine, said "the results of this study raise an important concern about the risk of sleep apnea for sleep bruxers. A plausible explanation for this association," he said, "could rely on the shared anatomic problems proposed by some research such as mandibular (jawbone) deficiency, temporomandibular abnormalities, and craniofacial abnormalities."

Dr. Ohayon said that sleep bruxism should be considered in patients with sleep-disordered breathing disorders. He called on general practitioners to inquire about sleep bruxism and sleep apnea symptoms when abnormal tooth wear damage is identified. He also urged dentists to ask about symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing when dental signs of bruxism are present.

"Finally," he said, "further research is necessary on the pathophysiologic mechanisms of this largely unknown sleep disorder."

http://www.talkaboutsleep.com/sleep-disorders/archives/parasomnias_bruxism.htm

finally! i am done with the last essay for the semester!!!!! spent three night editing the mno essay ...22 pages to 15 pages. woohoo! i wish i could say that's the end of all my assignments...at least i thought that was it last week..until i realised that i have two more tests next week and a million other projects for publications. wah rau.

anyway i'm finally home..after having hibernated in school last week. alright time to sleep...but before i go...here's introducing bae sung.........hahaha...peach hates youtube...but too bad!

if you know who's bae sung..and you can never figure out what the fark he is talking about...this is the revelation of the language that he is speaking!