Depression is characterized by intense feelings of sadness and hopelessness. Those who suffer from major depressive disorder (MDD) often experience a loss of interest in once-beloved activities, significant impairment in day-to-day functioning, and a range of other symptoms, such as changes to sleep and appetite. These factors, most notably sleep…
Despite what it sounds like, sleep divorce doesn’t always spell the end of a relationship. It’s what happens when one or both partners decide to sleep in separate beds. As controversial as it sounds, it’s actually pretty common. But does sleep divorce truly spell the end of a relationship? And…
No matter how strong you are, the truth is that divorce is hard, and it is sure to affect you in one way or another. Divorce means that a chapter of your life is ending, and it can be difficult to come to that realization — and even harder to…
In college, I remember sitting at the dining room table in a shared apartment, having a small breakfast and coffee before class. One of my roommates came downstairs looking pale, his hair still wet from the shower. He slid onto a chair next to me, and, after pouring a bowl…
168 hours. That is how many hours are in each week. Did you know that? I certainly did not; I never thought to do the math. Someone recently recommended the book, “I Know How She Does It” by Laura Vanderkam. Truthfully, it is written for a specific group of people…
In January of last year, my boyfriend and I jumped on the bandwagon and adopted a pandemic puppy. We named her Summer (thought it fitting for a golden retriever) and quickly fell in love. She’s like our child — we’ve watched her grow into the stick-loving, ball-chasing, somersaulting, silly, loving,…
You start feeling tired during the day, so you order a wearable device that tracks your sleep. The data indicates that you’re not spending long enough in your REM cycle, so you begin researching natural sleep aids. You discover an online community of amateur biologists who not only recommend avoiding…
Ah, sleep. That tiny little window we get each night to rest and recharge. Only, not all of us get to experience that window as restfully as we’d like to. Some of us dread tucking into bed at night because we know what’s coming: a tossy-turny, stressful sleep inundated with…
If a supervillain in a superhero movie declared that their ultimate evil plan was “global chronodisruption”, it would sound terrifying. The folks in tights would have to do everything in their power to stop the threat. But since the invention of the electric light, we humans (and some of our…
Click here to schedule online counseling at Thriveworks. Hi, my name is Emily Simonian and I’m a licensed clinician at Thriveworks in Washington DC. The question that was asked was, “Why am I having strange dreams during covid?” And that’s a great question because since the Coronavirus outbreak, I’m sure a lot…
A lucid dream is one in which the individual knows he or she is dreaming. According to sleep experts at Tuck.com, as many as 82% of people report having a lucid dream at least once in their lives. And while many wake up pretty quickly after making this strange realization,…
Do you have trouble falling or staying asleep? Researchers from the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience say your insomnia might stem from emotional distress. The team asked participants to relive shameful moments from their past, while receiving an MRI scan of their brain activity. Researchers found that good sleepers neutralized those…
