Sleep is so important, especially for the developing adolescent brain. I was reminded of this when my girls were at boarding school. The regular bulletins from the Boarding House were focused on this and, that perennial bugbear, head lice. It was not news to me. In fact I have been a pioneer in the field of sleep studies, particularly in my own teens, when I often only emerged from my bed when the hunger pangs became insistent.
Fortunate as I am in my ability to sleep, I feel a real sympathy for those who don't sleep well. The incessant bombardment and accessibility to technology has negatively impacted on the quality of sleep for many.
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Recent studies have shown how important deep sleep is as this is when the toxins in the brain pass through the glymphatic system and if this cannot occur due to poor sleep then brain function is compromised.
http://www.livescience.com/40510-sleep-cleans-brain-harmful-toxins.html
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Technology is not the only culprit responsible for poor sleep. People just seem to have different thresholds for what irritations register. To illustrate, my husband does not sleep as well as I do. I believe his level of tolerance is a factor. When driving he cannot tolerate the mildest rattle of keys, coins, cans or any of those items which accumulate in the cup holder of our car. In my time I have tolerated The Wiggles, Hi Five, Nicky Webster and the demands of two children as I traversed many, many miles. Rattles don't bother me unless the wheel is falling off.
We have recently moved from the quietude of the countryside, where we were surrounded by bush. Awakened by the idyllic chirping of birds, we spent our days gambolling with lambs in peace and stillness (not really but I'm making a point).
Now we are ensconced in a suburban landscape it is somewhat different. Our neighbour on one side has a yapping dog. My beloved occasionally gets a crazed look and threatens to take action but because it is not incessant and because I feel they must occasionally have had their reverie disturbed by our heated and hissed exchanges- normal for us but exacerbated by the stresses of moving- I restrain him.
Given that we tolerate traffic, yapping dogs, the daily trumpet practice of a talentless teen, the illegal parking right opposite our drive way by some silly girl who is just asking to be reversed into, it was with a degree of astonishment I registered what our other neighbour came to say yesterday.
"I am horrified by what is going on!" he said. I was a bit alarmed, I haven't been personally horrified for quite some time but I know this is sheer laziness. I adopted a suitably empathetic look and prepared myself but was taken aback when it turns out he was horrified because I was having an air conditioner installed in an east facing bedroom and the unit is facing his boundary. In particular his yet to be built alfresco area. I pointed out that when he is entertaining it will be us enduring the noise of the revels but he countered with the news that as a loner he will be there contemplating in solitary over a cup of tea.
My husband, who I rarely find insightful when I am outlining my own grievances, quickly left the house before he succumbed and spoke his thoughts. He later said that this was with some difficulty but he felt that our neighbours's concern about the noise of the air con was an "emotional outburst" and not really about the noise at all. The neighbour is a bachelor who cares full time for his elderly, very frail mother. He visits his own house daily to plan the new dwelling he intends to build and to seek respite from what must be a gruelling, around the clock job. It is quite likely that a petty matter (the air con is a small unit and a brand known for quiet operation) might take on a greater importance in these circumstances.
Luckily, my brain, having rid itself of the normal toxins (plus the toxins generated by a few glasses of Sem Sav Blanc) during the eight hours of quality sleep the night before, was in top form. I was able to talk to the neighbour, diffusing the tense atmosphere with gentle, sympathetic and conciliatory words and we parted amicably.
If he returns I will say that there is an ap for that.
I will never descend to this method.
Hopefully neither will he.
