Kleine-Levin Syndrome Sufferers Can Sleep Up To 64 Days In A Row Only Wake Up In Sleep Walking State To Eat And Drink.

Klein-Levine Syndrome is also known as the ‘sleeping beauty’ syndrome. It’s a rare disorder that causes episodes of excessive sleep in its victims (hypersomnolence). Those affected by the disease can sleep for a period of 20 hours per day, with visits to the bathroom and to eat in between. The episodes start with drowsiness and can last for days, weeks or months. It affects mostly young males aged between 15 and 25.

Image source: www.globalgenes.org

During the episodes, victims are difficult to awaken and when they do, they are in a dream-like state. They experience hallucinations, irritability, disorientation, apathy, confusion, lethargy, childishness, excessive food intake and an uninhibited sex drive. Taking care of themselves, going to school or work becomes difficult for them during the episodes.

Klein-Levine syndrome usually starts when most of its victims are adolescents and can occur twice or twelve times in a year. Symptoms appear without warning and when the victims finally wake up, they have no recollection of their experiences during the episodes.

Patients are usually in perfect health in between episodes and have no behavioral or physical dysfunction. They lead normal lives just like everyone else with sleep patterns that are regular. The episodes become infrequent as one ages and eventually disappear. In some cases, however, patients have the episodes even in their 40’s and 50’s.

Causes of the syndrome are not yet known, although the disease pathology suggests a malfunction of the hypothalamus and thalamus. These parts of the brain govern sleep, sex drive and appetite. Others suggest hereditary factors. No definitive treatment has been found for the syndrome and victims must be watched with care during episodes. Doctors prescribe medications that counter the effects and help spread the episodes further apart.

Nicole Delien, 17, is afflicted with Kleine-Levin Syndrome, a rare disorder that causes her to sleep 18 to 19 hours a day
Image source: www.dailymail.co.uk

Nicole Delien is one such victim who sleeps for 18 to 19 hours during episodes. She once slept for 64 days that she missed Thanksgiving and Christmas. Her sleeping spells began when she was six and a half. 'I don't remember what happens (during that time),' she told the Today show. 'It's hard for me to talk about it, because I've missed so many days of my life. I just don't like when people call it a fairy tale, because it's really not.'

Nicole with her parents on the Jeff Probst Show
Image source: www.dailymail.co.uk

It was difficult for her parents to get a correct diagnosis for her and they had to see different doctors to figure out what was really affecting their daughter. A psychiatrist at the Allegheny General Hospital of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, Dr. Michael Rancurello was able to identify the disorder. He advised them on how to manage the disease, including its medication. He referred to Nicole’s unconscious state as a “delirium” on the Today Show.

Video footage of Nicole before she fell asleep for 64 days
Image source: www.dailymail.co.uk

'It's really not sleeping, I think it's a manifestation of some brain malfunction,' he said.

Nicole with her parents on the Jeff Probst Show
Image source: www.dailymail.co.uk

Nicole is sad for missing out on most family celebrations due to the spells. She would have missed out too on an opportunity to meet Katy Perry, the pop singer. When Katy learned about Nicole’s disorder, however, she made sure Nicole visited her backstage during a performance in Connecticut. Nicole hopes that as she grows older, she will have “more good memories like that one.” The Delien family also appeared on the Jeff probst syndicated talk show to create awareness on the disorder.
[source:www.dailymail.co.uk ]

Here Are Some Fascinating Facts On Friendship

As someone one’s said, ‘friendship is the cement that holds the world together. ‘It’s a great responsibility and not an opportunity but here are some strange facts you didn’t know about friendship.

1. Friendship is good for one’s heart and soul

According to studies, friendship helps foster good health, longevity and alleviates stress. When faced with major illnesses like cancer or heart attacks, people with a great social network are in a better position to survive. The loving support of friends helps them through the healing process.

Image source: www.quora.com

Companionship also helps reduce stress effects on the body; it protects one from illnesses and hastens the healing process when sick. It makes people less susceptible to chronic diseases like arthritis, inflammatory bowel diseases and heart disease. 

Image source: www.rolereboot.org

 According to The Scientific Basis for the Healing Power of Intimacy by Dean Ornish, no other aspect in medicine, ''not diet, not smoking, not exercise, not stress, not genetics, not drugs, not surgery - has a greater effect on how often we get sick than the healing power of love and intimacy.'' He says that personal intimacy directly affects our bodies, leading to a stronger immune system, better functioning of the cardiovascular and longer life expectancies. 

 2. Lack of close friends is as detrimental to your health as carrying extra weight or smoking.

Image source: www.royalfarris.wordpress.com

 Friendship not only makes us happier but contributes to our health. The renowned Harvard Medical School Nurses’ Health Study found out that, a woman with more friends was less likely to develop physical impairments as she grew old and was more likely to live a joyful life. The results by the researchers were very significant that their conclusion was that, not having close confidants or friends was as detrimental to your health as being overweight or smoking.

 3. In a lifetime, you go through 396 friends but only 36 last.

Image source:www.fastcompany.com

 According to researchers,

• In a lifetime, one makes 396 friendships but only one in 12, (33) stands the test of time. 
• Out of the 33, only 6 are considered to be close friends while the 27 are social friends i.e. workmates or drinking buddies. 
• Best friends are not those one sees most often but those one thinks of most. Men see friends every five days while women see them every 3.5 days. Both sexes however see their best friend only once in eight weeks. (this study was done by MSN messenger) 

 4. Marriages last due to friendship
 John Gottman, a psychology professor at University of Washington believes that “happy marriages are based on deep friendship. By this I mean a mutual respect for each other's company." They are also based on partner’s knowledge of the other’s likes, dislikes and quirks.

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 Spouses who are friends make “repair attempts” during quarrels. They try to keep anger from escalating beyond control. Gottman reports that partners who are friends and know each other well, know how to quell tensions during sticky situations. They stop the fighting and continue with their marriage.

 Bill Hanawalt, a pastor at the Vineyard Christian Church of Evaston says that, "Marriage without friendship cannot work in our culture. …Couples that don't give attention to developing their friendship often come apart.”

Image source: www.stylecaster.com

 An article ‘Keys to a Happy Marriage (From Real Experts’) on the Huffington Post states that ‘Friendship is as important as love for a happy married life.’ Most people in happy successful marriages claim they were friends before they got married. Some of those, whose marriages failed, claimed they had love but didn't learn how to be friends.
[source:www.quora.com]

Have You Ever Imagined How Do Astronauts Sleep In Space? Here Is What It's Like?

Space has no ‘down’ or ‘up’ and there is no gravity. This makes astronauts weightless and sleeping for them can be in any orientation. However, to avoid floating and bumping on things, they strap themselves inside the crew cabin to a seat, wall or a bunk bed.

The space crew avoids sleeping at the cockpit since the warmth and sunlight entering through the cockpit window disrupts a sleeper who has no sleeping mask on. Sometimes their sleep is disrupted by either the excitement of being in space or motion sickness. Sleeping in close quarters too can be disruptive since the crew members can hear each other easily. According to NASA, common drugs that astronauts take are painkillers and sleeping pills. The sleeping pills help combat sleep deprivation and insomnia that is common while on space.

Image source: www.theatlantic.com

To help avoid disruptions from sunlight, astronauts cover the windows and wear sleep masks to shut out any distracting light. To shut out constant whirring noises made by air filters, fans and other noisy equipment, they sleep with earplugs on. This helps dampen the sound but they get used to the noise after a while.

Image source: www.howstuffworks.com

Though while strapped to a wall, your arms may float away like a zombie’s, "it's really comfortable," swears Mike Fincke, an astronaut. He says that at one time, he was so tired after a long day on the International Space Station, while accompanied by another astronaut and spacewalk. "We were sitting around the table drinking some tea, and I just fell asleep. I started floating away."

The floating problem of sleeping astronauts is normally avoided by tucking themselves into sleeping bags strapped to the walls. They also have to cross their arms and legs to avoid having them hovering above them. The ventilation also has to be effective since according to Robert Frost, an astronaut trainer "the carbon dioxide they breathe out doesn't float off -- it just sits there in front of their mouth, waiting to be sucked back in."



Most of them try to sleep as close to how they would while on earth- by strapping their sleeping bags to the floor, ceiling or walls. There is no such thing as ‘up’ on space which means that it’s as easy to sleep vertically as one would horizontally while on earth.
[source:www.theatlantic.com]

Lennart Nilsson-A Swedish Photographer Spent 12 Years Of His Life Taking Pictures Of The Foetus Growing In The Womb

Lennart Nilsson, a Swedish photographer, spent 12 years taking pictures of the fetus as it develops in the womb. He used conventional cameras that had macro lenses, a scanning electron microscope and an endoscope. He ‘worked’ literary in the womb and used a magnification of hundred of thousands. The first photo Nilsson took was in 1965.

Sperm in the Fallopian tube
Image source: www.lennartnilsson.com

Image source: www.lennartnilsson.com

Image source: www.lennartnilsson.com

the very first time in history on that year, Nilsson succeeded in taking a photograph of the human fetus from inside the womb. He was able to create images of high resolution showing the different stages of human development, using the help of endoscopic cameras, electron microscopes and other techniques. A Child is Born became a major breakthrough for him and the rest of the world in medical photography.

Embryo
Image source: www.lennartnilsson.com

Image source: www.lennartnilsson.com

Foetus
Image source: www.lennartnilsson.com

Beginning in 1953, A Child is Born took a total of 12 years to complete. LIFE magazine published The Drama of Life before Birth, a cover article of 16 pages containing Nilsson’s photographs. 8 million copies produced sold out in a few days. Along with the moon landing and John F Kennedy’s assassination, the article is still among some of LIFE Magazine’s most important stories.

8th weekImage source: www.lennartnilsson.com

10 weeks. The eyelids are semi-shut. They will close completely in a few days.Image source: www.lennartnilsson.com

Image source: www.lennartnilsson.com

Around the same year LIFE magazine published his photos, Nilsson published ‘A Child is Born’. The book became a huge success too, especially among expectant mothers and connoisseurs of photography. It received lots of praise by many, who described it as providing simple and accurate scientific explanations of the complicated processes that take place during development.

Image source: www.lennartnilsson.com

      16 weeks. The skeleton consists mainly of flexible cartridge. A network of blood vessels 

       is visible through the thin skin.

Image source: www.lennartnilsson.com

18 weeks: Approximately 14 cm. The foetus can now perceive sounds from the outside world.Image source: www.lennartnilsson.com

His intention on writing the book was to provide expectant mothers with a practical guide. To do this, Nilsson addressed myths and common anxieties about pregnancy. He provided mothers with a photographic account of the growth of a fetus from conception to birth. Claes Wirsen,a doctor at the Karolinska Institute in Solna, Sweden and Professor Axel Ingelman-Sundberg, of Sabbatsberg Hospital in Stockholm, helped Nilsson write the text in the book. The book is written chronologically from pre-conception to post-delivery. It has photos of actual embryos, fetuses and babies. It also has scientific illustrations and anatomical diagrams that accompany descriptions of the biological processes.

20 weeks: Approximately 20 cm. Woolly hair, known as lanugo, covers the entire head.Image source: www.lennartnilsson.com

26th week.
Image source: www.lennartnilsson.com

Image source: www.lennartnilsson.com

The book has since then been published in 5 editions and in over 20 countries. A recent edition of the book was published in 2009. In the same year, Lennart Nilsson got awarded the Professor honorary title by the Swedish government. This award is given when one has made a huge significant educational contribution.
[source: www.lennartnilsson.com]

Planet Earth Is You – A 4 minutes Video That Will Change Your Life

Every once in a while, we should stop and reflect on what our role is on this planet. We should assume direct responsibility of its well being and health. Every act we exercise in our society and environment contributes to our conditions as human beings. We should learn to respect, love and take full responsibility for our acts because they define us. Understanding this helps us start seeing the planet as ours. It belongs to each one of us and we should take our obligations as citizens of this world seriously.

Image source: www.wikimedia.org

We as human beings have become indifferent about our planet. We are destroying it piece by piece without a care about tomorrow. You can watch this video and take action or watch it and ignore depending on how you want our future planet to look like. For some of us, something inside us will be awaken that will push us to begin the much needed changes needed.

The planet has been a great host for us and we should not continue to keep quiet. We should recognize it, speak out about it and prevent the many killings. Our capacity to think, build and help should prevent us from ignoring, destroying and killing.
                        
Global awareness has been expanding like never before in the last years and this is an exciting and important time on our planet. Humanity has been thrust into a consciousness of evolution that is exceptional. The time is now to remember who we are, why we are on this planet, what we are doing and how we can change it for the better.

The sole purpose of this video is to raise awareness among humans on the state of our planet. It is a reminder that there is still time for us to do something about it. There is time for us to act. We should not let our indifference about the world take over. Let us help conserve our planet.

This powerful video was made by Carlos Chavira and shared on his You Tube page. Some of the images are graphic but the video is powerful. Share this message because there is still time to save our planet.
[source: www.whydontyoutrythis.com]

480 Pound Woman Dies After Being Stuck To A Couch 6 Years Of Her Life.Her Skin Had Literally Become A Part Of The Couch

Gayle Laverne Grinds, died at 40, after surgeons failed at a six-hour attempt to dislodge her from her couch. Her home was a filthy mess, according to workers, because Grinds had become too large to even get up and use the bathroom. Rescue workers were called in by her brother and girlfriend, who informed them that she was having “emphysema problems” and breathing trouble.

Her preliminary autopsy listed her death as due to “morbid obesity” but officials were still investigating based on the circumstances in her house.

Herman Thomas, a man who lived with her, told investigators that he did his best to take care of the four-foot ten inch Grinds. He had tried effortlessly to get her out of the chair in vain. No charges had been filed yet on him but officials were looking into issues of negligence. Trash was scattered all over the floor and the walls were matted with feces. Pictures had been knocked off walls and furniture was toppled.

Image source: www.cmgdigital.com

Workers who entered the house had to wear protective gear. They blast in fresh air into the house to reduce the stench that was so powerful. Removing Grinds from the couch turned into a painful ordeal since her body had become one with the chair’s fabric after years of staying put on it. They therefore opted to surgically remove her from the chair.

After several failed attempts at creating a stretcher to carry Grinds and her couch, the rescue workers removed some sliding glass patio doors at the back of the house. This created a 6-foot opening through which they could get her and her chair out of the house. Getting her onto the ambulance proved a difficult job too and they had to slide the couch with Grinds still attached to it onto a trailer that was attached to a pickup truck.

She died still attached to the sofa at the Martin Memorial Hospital South. Her neighbors had seen Thomas and some kids around the house but they had no idea she lived there. Unidentified relatives who were at the scene were upset by the situation.
[source: www.wftv.com]

These 20 Photos Will Make You Cry,But It’s Totally Worth It

We know the world as being full of some cruel evil people that are capable of unimaginable actions. The evidence is on the news we watch every day but there is a lot more kindness and goodness on this planet than you realize. There are people who do incredible things out of the goodness of their hearts, and they re-establish our faith in humanity.

1. Though it would have been easier to steal this skateboard, these kids left a note for the owner who had forgotten it.

Image source: www.bp.blogspot.com

2. When a $50 tip was left by parents in memory of a child they had lost.

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3. When this man stopped what he was doing to help an elderly woman carry her bags.

Image source: www.4.bp.blogspot.com

4. When this cyclist decided to sacrifice his time on the track to quench this Koala bear’s thirst.

Image source: www.2.bp.blogspot.com

5. When these kind people, being the only ones in the neighborhood with electricity, decided to share their outlets so that their neighbors could make calls to their loved ones.

Image source: www.2.bp.blogspot.com

6. When this dry cleaner offered free services to anyone that was in need.

Image source: www.4.bp.blogspot.com

7. When this soldier took time, in the middle of a life and death situation, to help this kitty that had wandered in the area.

Image source: www.1.bp.blogspot.com

8. When these 4 soldiers saluted a man who had lost his legs in battle.

Image source: www.4.bp.blogspot.com

9. When this girl turned around to help an opponent who had fallen down during a race.

Image source: www.1.bp.blogspot.com

10. When this freezing homeless man got a hot cup of coffee from this man.

Image source: www.4.bp.blogspot.com

11. When this soldier got something to drink from a civilian when fighting on his own soil.

Image source: www.bp.blogspot.com

12. When a homeless hungry man on the street got a sandwich from this little boy.

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13. When this shop owner left his business for a while to feed this disabled homeless man.

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14. When a trapped motorcyclist was helped by bystanders who literally lifted the car off him.

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15. When these people stood in line for hours to donate blood to those who needed it most.

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16. When this motorcyclist got off his bike to halt traffic, so that an elderly woman would make it to cross the street.

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17. When this man brought a homeless guy with no arm Japanese food and fed him.

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18. When this girl gave shelter to a man who was disabled on the streets.

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19. When Brian O’Driscoll, this girls hero, visited her in hospital.

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20. When a kind crowd gave this fan an unforgettable experience that seemed unimaginable considering his disability.

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Share the good news if these photos restored your faith in humanity or brightened your day.
[source: www.whydontyoutrythis.com]