A friend of mine cannot sleep, even after lying on the bed for a long time. Lets call this person S. S can lie on the bed at 12am, but sleeps only at 2am. So I have decided to research on this problem.
This might a sleeping disorder, and not necessary insomnia, as what we usually call it when somebody cannot fall asleep. Insomnia is a symptom of sleeping disorder, and not a stand alone diagnose or a disease. According to Wikipedia, sleeping disorder (somnipathy) is a medical disorder of the sleep patterns of a person or animal.
But I shall focus on insomnia, as I think this is more common. By definition, insomnia is "difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep, or both".

Causes of Insomnia
There is three main causes of insomnia, and they are namely, psychological, physical and temporary events or factors.

• Psychological Causes
• Anxiety, condition which one feel increased tension, apprehensions and feelings of helplessness, worry, fear and uncertainty.
• Stress, or how effectively a person copes with any emotional, physical, social, economic, or other factor that requires a response or change.
• Depression, a mood disturbance characterized by feelings of sadness, despair and discouragement
• In addition, a lack of good nights sleep can lead to these psychological problems, and a vicious cycle can develop.
• Physical Causes
  
• Medical conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure and Parkinson's disease.
  
• Pain and discomfort from a medical illness or injury often interfere with sleep.
• Genetics. Problems with insomnia do seem to run in some families, although researchers have yet to identify how genetics play a role.
• Other sleep disorders. These include sleep apnea(in which one temporarily stops breathing during sleep) and periodic leg and arm movements during sleep (in which one's muscles excessively twitch or jerk).
• Temporary events or Factors
• Jet lag. Air travel across time zones often causes brief bouts of insomnia.
• Working the night shift or long shifts. Individuals who work at night and those who work long shifts may have trouble adjusting their sleep habits.
• Medications. Insomnia can be a side effect of various medications, both prescription and over-the-counter.
• Overuse of caffeine and alcohol. Caffeine most commonly disrupts sleep. While a drink or two before bed may help a person relax, more than that can lead to fragmented sleep and wakefulness a few hours later.
• Environmental noise, extreme temperatures, or a change in a person's surrounding environment.

Consequences of Insomnia

• It can affect concentration and memory, which may affect one's ability to perform daily tasks.
  
• Insomnia contributes to traffic and industrial accidents. Various studies have shown that fatigue plays a major role in automobile and machinery accidents. As many as 100,000 automobile accidents, accounting for 1,500 deaths, are caused by sleepiness.
  
• Insomnia increases the activity of hormones and pathways in the brain that causes stress, and changes in sleeping patterns have shown to affect moods.
  
• A study reported that people who had chronic insomnia had symptoms of heart and nervous system activity that might put them at risk for heart disease.
  
• Headaches which occured during the night or early morning might be related to sleep disorder.
  

Cure for Insomnia

• See a Doctor

• Insomnia can be a symptom of physical disorders, although for most of us it's the result of tension, stress and anxiety—and of course the more anxious we get about our insomnia, the worse it gets. If your doctor pronounces you a "healthy" insomniac, he might suggest some of the techniques provided here. Or she might prescribe drugs to help you get to sleep.

• We suggest you try all these methods first, and use drugs only as a last resort. The decision, of course, is yours.

• Take a Warm Bath

  It's a great way to relax your body.

• Get a Massage

  Have somebody to give you a massage just before going to sleep. Have them make the massage strokes slow, gentle, yet firm, to work the tension out of your muscles and soothe you to sleep.

• Listen to Music

  Play some soft, soothing music that will lull you to sleep. There are even cassettes and records designed for that very purpose. Some are specially composed music, others simply have sounds of waves rhythmically breaking, or the steady pattern of a heartbeat.

• Drink Warm Milk

  A glass of warm milk 15 minutes before going to bed will soothe your nervous system. Milk contains calcium, which works directly on jagged nerves to make them (and you) relax.

Lets hope that S will be able to sleep well soon. :)

Credits

http://www.ehealthmd.com/library/insomnia/INS_causes.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insomnia

http://www.ehealthmd.com/library/insomnia/ins_whatis.html

http://www.well.com/~mick/insomnia/

---

What can you do with the new Windows Live? Find out

Coming Up.... Insomia

---

check out the rest of the Windows Live™. More than mail–Windows Live™ goes way beyond your inbox. More than messages

From 9 June Today newspaper:

Soyjoy to the world

Japanese snack succeeds with quirky campaign and distinct sense of humour

by Shermaine Wong

TRUST the Japanese to incorporate their signature kawaii )cuteness) culture into everyday life.

One advertising campaign which has borrowed heavily from Japanese culture has managed to enjoy success with the public with its quirky visuals and memorable catchphrase.

The Soyjoy campaign - which began last June and is promoted via traditional and online media platforms - has been tickling audiences with its humorous take on weight watching and a memorable tagline, “Much Effort, Little Effort!”

Earlier efforts of the campaign include a series of television commercials (TVCs), and print and bus stop ads. It is currently in its second phase, in which promotional efforts have been moved online.

Soyjoy is positioned as a new healthy snack from Japan with a low glycemic index (GI) count. GI is a measure of the effects of carbohydrates on blood glucose levels. Generally, foods with low GI are viewed as healthier options.

As such, the campaign, created by Ogilvy & Mather Singapore (O&M), revolved around the concept of GI. For TVCs and print ads, O&M’s trio comprising creative director Maurice
Wee; regional creative director Takuya Matsuo; and group head copywriter Troy Lim created ads which played up the extreme methods women employ to keep trim.

In the Soyjoy ad titled Office, a woman is shown at work on her computer, while struggling to maintain a squat - hence, “much effort”. This is juxtaposed with the “little effort” method another woman is seen using: Eating Soyjoy.

Mr Matsuo said: “Office was shot entirely in Tokyo since Soyjoy is 100 per cent Japanese. We’re riding on the Singaporean fascination with Japan and its products. The result is a memorable, quirky campaign that carries a
distinctly Japanese sense of humour.”

The campaign’s current effort, conceptualised by Ogilvy PR and its 360° Digital Influence team, is a five week-long blogger challenge which started on May 25.

Full version

They funny people arh. At least for me, I never understood the advertisment (blame my poor comprehension skills if you want). So how can they say the advertisemnet enjoyed success with the public, when I did not understand what was it talking about. Also, I dont think anybody will know what does "GI" means. If not for this article, I would have never known that the advertisment was about weight watching. So in conclusion, this advertisement is horrible, the newspaper too......

So here is the long-awaited (at least by me) post on Needs and Wants, since the Procrastination post one week ago.

A need is defined as something that is necessary for humans to live a healthy life. So that rules out all those new technology coming out everyday, etc, unless you tell me you will die if you do not have them. If that happens, it means that you are addicted to it, and needs to be sent to the rehabilitation centre.

A want is something that you would want to have, and they are not absolutely necessary for one to live properly.

And since its the holidays (although it's ending soon), I'm sure some of you go shopping spree, buying and buying things, and some of them is not necessary, which means you wasted money, resulting less amount of cash to use for future use.

So before you go for a shopping spree, ask yourself:

1. Can I live without it?


2. Will the world stop going around if I do not have it?


3. Will it make a big difference in my life if I do have it?


4. Will my life end if I go without this item?


5. Can I find it elsewhere for less money?


6. Can I find it on sale or clearance or used?

If you do this, you should find out that what you were eying will most probably be a want; and that you will not need it. But, your mind will still think of buying the thing right?

One way to prevent this is to PROCRASTINATE! Hear this, PROCRASTINATE. When you procrastinate on buying the stuff, it is likely that over time, your interest will wane and then you will 移情别恋，although you might say that 移情but did not 别恋. (You know who you are) For example, you procrastinate leaving the house to go to the mall, and maybe a few months later, you will have a new interest. This results in you actually saving a fair bit of money.

Another way is to be contended, 知足常乐. If you are contended, you will never long for other things, and will be happy :D. What you have is really a lot more, even when you are not comparing at those African kids. Look at the low-income people in Singapore, and you should realise that you have much much more than the others. If you have more than others, you should not be asking for more right?

So the final advise is to not splurge, because of some present want, as you might need the money in future.

*PS- I am not practicing what I preached. I am planning to buy something that cost $200+ which is obviously a want, and not a need. =P