Like most, I have a passion for traveling. I’ve been lucky enough to see some great places, but my “bucket list” of traveling isn’t nearly complete. I was recently able to speak with Paul Steele of BaldHiker.com. Paul’s blog is always an incredible read, as he goes in-depth on places he’s been, unique foods that he has tried, and more.

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Your blog covers quite a bit, as you’ve seen many amazing places around the globe. What was it that inspired you to blog about your exciting journeys? Continue reading →

Sleep, which is a heightened anabolic state, is much more than just something you do when you’re exhausted. There are different stages of sleep (like the NREM and REM stages), functions of sleep (such as Ontogensis and Preservation), and also other interesting factors, such as how certain foods can affect your sleep.

Recently, I was able to interview Dr. Yatin Patel, a pulmonary and sleep physician, who not only blogs regularly on the issues of sleep, but has also authored two great books on the subject.

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What was it that fascinated you most about becoming an expert on Sleep, and how did you become a Sleep Physician? Continue reading →

Photo By: Betsssssy Flickr

There are nights when I am so exhausted I fall asleep completely dressed. Then there are those nights when I can’t stop tossing and turning and staring at the clock. It’s frustrating watching the numbers on the clock fly by and the hours I have left to sleep quickly dwindle. Six hours. Five hours. Four hours. Three hours. Once morning comes, and I have somehow managed to fall asleep, my eyes are left swollen and my body completely sore. I don’t just want more sleep. I want better sleep. If you are struggling with falling asleep and staring at the clock too, try these seven sleeping tips, so you can start getting a good night’s rest.

1. Have a Continue reading →

As you know by now from my blog, I certainly have an invested interest when it comes to studying sleep. With that said, I recently took to Twitter to ask all of you what your #1 tweetable sleeping tip would be, and we definitely received some great answers.

1. Create an environment that is conducive to sleep that is quiet, dark and cool with a comfortable mattress and pillows. (@GNSleepSite)
2. Look at your sleep environment. Is it cool, quiet free of distraction? Is your mattress comfortable? Your bedroom is your sleep oasis. (@KarinSleeps)
3. A good nights sleep begins the moment you wake up. Reduce stress, limit caffeine, eat healthy & no electronics 1 hr b4 bed. (@sleepwellaustin)
4. Rub lavender essential oils on your ears before bed. The ear has over 250 Continue reading →

Photo By: Billfromesm (Flickr)

We have all woken up with a dreaded sore neck, achy back or pulsing headache from a night of sleep discomfort. If you are finding yourself regularly waking to pain, it is time to try new sleeping tips. Some of the worst neck pain I have ever experienced was over a year ago when I slept with my head too high. My pillow had recently lost most of its fluff and felt like I was sleeping on a bag of sand. A new pillow was quickly added to my shopping list. That night as the store, I found myself staring at a long row of pillows in different degrees of firmness and prices. I was a little tight that month on money and bought the fluffiest five dollar pillow on the shelf. Huge mistake! The next month my head was so much higher than my back that every single morning I woke with every kind of pain possible. It didn’t matter what sleeping position I tried, my head was too high! The pillow was tossed, and a new firm one replaced it. Now with a Continue reading →

Dreaming is an outlet for our minds. It is something everyone does and is often our brain working through daily personal problems we are struggling with. My dreams are always so vivid and when I wake, I find myself going over and over them. I want to know the meaning of dreams and what my mind is trying to tell me. Below are five common occurring themes that make their way into many people’s sleep along with the dream interpretation for each one.

1. Falling or Flying

I have often woken suddenly from sleep with the realistic feeling of falling or losing my step. Dreams of falling indicate that you have no control over your everyday life and are looking for an outlet. On the opposite end, if you find yourself enjoying that euphoric feeling of flying in the sky, your mind is expressing happiness of becoming free and gaining control. You might be dealing with something in your life, like debt, that is keeping you stuck and continual dreams of falling might occur. Once you triumph your financial burden, dreams of flying through the sky could begin.

2. Teeth Falling Out

This is a one of my most frightening dreams. It usually involves my teeth turning yellow and black before crumbling out of my mouth. It is always horrifying, and once I wake up, I slide my tongue around my mouth, tallying up the teeth still there. Dream interpretation about teeth isn’t a sign you need to brush your teeth more or start wearing that mouth retainer nightly, it is about loose words. That’s right, gossip or bad language. If you find yourself losing your teeth nightly, maybe it is time to seal your lips when someone asks your opinion of so-and-so, and maybe don’t tell the neighbor her wild children need to learn some manners. After all, as my mother always says, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.”

3. Back at School and Unprepared

It has been a few years since I graduated from high school, but my dreams seem to always take me back there. The familiar stress of a test I’m not prepared for greets me, and an overwhelming feeling of anxiety accompanies the test. I wake up stressed and relieved all at the same time. I once asked my dad if he still dreams about being back at high school and to my great disappointment, he still does. School dream interpretation is simple; it is all about your current job. School was the first time you faced deadlines and pressure, so when work becomes stressful, your mind takes you back to the first time you experienced these feelings.

4. Fighting or Yelling at Someone

There are a few times in my life, I have found myself fighting and yelling at close friends in my dreams. Once I wake up, the angry feelings simmer down, but a part of me is still mad! I understand it was a dream, but how could they do that to me? You might have experienced these irrational angry feelings too. The reality is you are struggling with a friend or family member in awake life. This person might be making choices you don’t agree with, hurt your feelings, or is moving away. Deep inside, you want to tell how you feel and maybe it is time you talked with him or her.

5. Running or Being Chased

A common dream for younger children is a dream about being chased. No matter who or what is chasing you, the feeling of fear is present. Younger children experience being chased more often than adults because they are unable to rationalize fears yet. As you get older, you might find yourself running from scary creatures a lot less. Although, if you find yourself continually running, you might have a deep trauma that needs to be resolved or worked through.

Did any of these dreams sound familiar to you? Did the interpretation fit your situation? Dreams can be interpreted in many different ways depending on your personal life. A dream about swimming in rough waters can mean entirely something else to someone who almost drowned. To get the best dream interpretation for you, when you wake up in the morning, grab a pen and paper and jot down everything you can recollect about your dream. Try to recall how you felt during the dream. Then, think about stresses, emotions, and the struggles you are currently feeling and how they can tie into your dream. Knowing the meaning of dreams can help you work through real life struggles you were burying or ignoring.

By: Bruce Fingerhood Flickr

One of my favorite things to do when I was growing up was walk through motorhomes and RVs with my dad during the summer. We always picked out the biggest, most expensive ones and would drool over how amazing they were as we would walk through them. Our summers were spent camping in tents, and although we never bought a RV, it didn’t stop us from dreaming.

Even today I find myself walking through RVs for fun and hoping one day I will have one for traveling with family and friends. If you are anything like me, then you are going to love these five expensive RVs that have everything you could ever dream up.

1. EleMMent Palazzo

This is the ultimate mansion of RVs with a diesel engine, wireless command center, underfloor heating, and 430 square feet of luxury living space. Inside you will find a relaxing master bedroom, stunning fireplace, a full bathroom, and Continue reading →

Today there is a magic pill for almost everything. You have a headache? Here’s a pill. You are nauseous? Take this. Feeling exhausted? Pop one of these. When my mom was diagnosed with cancer, she was terrified of all the symptoms she would face from chemotherapy.

To everyone’s surprise, most of the symptoms were lessened with the help of additional medication.

One of her temporary symptoms was insomnia. The doctor prescribed her with sleeping pills to help her relax and sleep through the night for the length of her chemotherapy. This is the beauty of modern medicine. In the midst of sorrow, pain, and sleepless nights, there are medications to help aid the body to perform and function normally. But with the good, also comes the bad. In times of sleep deprivation, people desperately seek out the help of medical professionals for an aid to help them get much-needed rest. Every year, millions of people take sleeping pills without knowing the risks or negatives that come from using them. You know what dangers smoking cigarettes can pose on your body, but do you know that sleeping pills can be Continue reading →

Photo By: Norrisbaby (Flickr)

While having a conversation with an acquaintance, I mentioned my love for camping. Her reaction was, “Ugh! Sleeping in a tent with dirt…and bugs…and nothing to do sounds miserable!” I was about to tell her she obviously knew nothing about camping, but decided to bite my tongue.

I think many of us can appreciate that camping isn’t just sitting around a fire singing Kumbaya and sleeping with a bunch of dirty bugs! It’s about exploring the world, actually seeing nature, and experiencing things you don’t get to in the busy city or everyday life. If camping is nothing but dirt and bugs to you, then you need to up your camping trips to more exciting places. If camping is an “Ugh!” experience for you, then try out these nine incredible camp sites and let me know what you still have to say about camping.

9. Wawona Campground

If camping is a little boring to you, then take a stop at Sierra, Nevada and enjoy Continue reading →

Photo By: Col Ford and Natasha de Vere (Flickr)

When I graduated from high school, my parents took us on a road trip from New York City all the way to Kansas. It was an awesome experience that we all crossed off our bucket-lists. Yet as much as I would like to tell people the five of us in one car for two weeks was nothing but smiles, laughter and flawless site-seeing, it was far from perfect. First off my dad is a terrible driver in traffic. Horrible. We kept missing one little turn over and over and over. We had to pay to cross a bridge every single time we missed that simple turn, and after three hours of driving the same two bridges, my dad started driving straight through the tolls. Yep, he stopped paying. Three of us were screaming for him to stop, while my sister was begging for him to pull-over because she was car sick. With the constant screaming, nobody heard her and after one too many circles of driving, she was throwing up. It was awful then, but we laugh about it now. That is why I love road trip movies! People can relate to them! Road trips are fun, don’t get me wrong, but after several hours of driving in the car something will go wrong. It’s all a part of the experience and watching road trip movies always makes me proudly say “that is totally my family.” I am sure you feel the same way.

Here are nine of the best movies to bring on the nostalgia of Continue reading →