Physical & Mental Wellbeing

One’s View of Mt. Rainier

When I was growing up in Seattle, my father, who’d come from Maine, one day asked whether I expected to live in Seattle as an adult. “Of course!” I replied, surprised he’d ask. “Then you should consider going east for school,” Dad said. “Easterners have a lot of influence in society. They make the rules.… Continue Reading One’s View of Mt. Rainier

Life is a Mountain: Into Thin Air and Beyond

I once met a bumper sticker that read, “Life is a mountain, not a beach.” For much of mine, mountains have been among other things, my favorite metaphor. But sometimes you can get too much, even of a good metaphor. Take, for example, the tragic events that unfolded high on the highest place on Earth… Continue Reading Life is a Mountain: Into Thin Air and Beyond

Decisions, Decisions – I Can’t Make Up My Mind. I’ll Just Have to Sleep On It.

What is the best way to make tough decisions? In the February 17, 2006 issue of Science magazine, Ap Dijksterhuis, a Dutch psychologist, published the startling claim that people make better decisions about complex choices if they don’t think too hard about them. He based this counterintuitive conclusion on several studies. In the first study,… Continue Reading Decisions, Decisions – I Can’t Make Up My Mind. I’ll Just Have to Sleep On It.

Sleep as an Altered State of Consciousness

The risks and benefits of losing consciousness while asleep By definition, to be asleep is to be unconscious. From a biological perspective, sleeping would seem like a dangerous thing to do, considering the associated vulnerability to predators or competitors; therefore, from an evolutionary standpoint, it must have some significant survival value. Perhaps there is a… Continue Reading Sleep as an Altered State of Consciousness

Normal Sleep

Consider the modern concept of “normal” sleep. Thanks to artificial illumination, I can stay active in the evening and delay my bedtime until about 11 p.m. I lock the door (to ensure security), turn down the thermostat (for optimal sleeping temperature), and turn off the lights (to eliminate extraneous stimulation). I join my wife (the… Continue Reading Normal Sleep