RESEACH NOTES:

 

People from every part of the world, hippos in the jungle, fish in aquariums - they all sleep! Sleep is as important as breathing or eating. In fact, people can survive longer without food than they can without sleep.

Sleep is vital for giving your body a rest and allowing it to prepare for the next day. It's like giving your body a mini-vacation. Sleep also gives your brain a chance to sort things out. Scientists aren't exactly sure what kinds of organizing your brain does while you sleep, but they think that sleep may be the time when the brain sorts and stores information, replaces chemicals, and solves problems.

The amount of sleep a person needs depends a lot on his age. Babies sleep a whole lot - about 16 or 17 hours a day! But many older people only need about six or seven hours of sleep a night. Most kids between the ages of five and 12 are somewhere in between - they sleep eight to ten hours a night. But the amount of sleep a kid needs really depends on the kid: some find they need a little less sleep, some more.

Skipping one night's sleep makes a person cranky and clumsy. After missing two nights of sleep, a person will have problems thinking and doing things; his brain and body can't do their normal tasks nearly as well. After five nights without sleep, a person will hallucinate (this means seeing things that aren't actually there). Eventually, it becomes impossible for the brain to give its directions to the rest of the body without sleep - the brain needs to spend time in bed and catch its zzzz's!

 

  1. Matters of the Mind
    Your own mind can become your worst enemy when you're trying to get to sleep. A too active mind, bouncing from thought to thought, can keep you lying awake for hours. Stress and anxiety are two culprits, but even excitement and anticipation can keep the eyelids open. Depression sometimes causes insomnia. And, sometimes, insomnia can cause depression. So these two issues are closely tied together.

Another cause of insomnia is worrying that you won't be able to get to sleep. If you have already suffered a sleepless night or two, then you are more or less expecting not to sleep. And guess what? You get exactly what you are expecting.

 

 

There are three distinct types of insomnia. These, however, can be broken down into countless other divisions and categories. However, if you can decide which of the three types your insomnia belongs in, it makes finding help and choosing a treatment much simpler.

  1. TRANSIENT INSOMNIA
    Transient insomnia lasts only a night or two. It's usually caused by some outside influence - sleeping in a strange bed, perhaps in a hotel room, or worry about that big presentation you have to make in the morning. A perfect example is the problem children have getting to sleep on Christmas eve.

  2. SHORT-TERM INSOMNIA
    Short-term insomnia can last from a few days to a few weeks. Stress or poor sleep habits can bring this on. So can worry about things like health, business or relationships. Solve the problem, get rid of the stress and your sleep will be back on track.

  3. CHRONIC INSOMNIA
    Chronic insomnia can last for years. Sometimes it starts in early childhood. the resultant loss of sleep causes more health problems. This type of insomnia causes excessive daytime sleepiness, poor concentration, memory loss and irritability. Chronic insomnia is a serious problem.

 

MELISSA’S INSOMNIA TO PAST FLASHBACKS CAN DE DEFINED AS CHRONIC INSOMNIA, HER REASON IS SHE’S HAD A TOUGH CHILDHOOD, WHERE SHE CANNOT SLEEP ALONE, AND SINCE HER HUSBAND IS AWAY FOR THE PAST WEEK OR SO, SHE’S HAD A TOUGH TIME GETTING HER PROPER SLEEP AND REST.

DURING THE PRESENT DAY SCENE, IT GOES BEYOND CHRONIC IMSOMNIA, AFTER THE ACCIDENT OF KILLING HER HUSBAND, SHE HAS REACHED A POINT BEYOND EVERYTHING, SHE IS IN A SUICIDAL INSOMNIC STATE.