It’s been a while since posting; a sure sign of busy activity within DrEAMSLab. The physical lab is almost complete (just awaiting the all-important black-out blinds!) and provides a calming, currently quiet place in which to work. The campus cats can be viewed from the window, as can the busy Autumnal squirrels, being tactical (and distracting) with their walnut storage pursuits.
Last month I attended the British Sleep Society’s biennial conference in Newcastle (technically Gateshead actually, being just North of the Tyne). It was a treat for sleep clinicians and helpful for me, one of the few purist sleep researchers in attendance, too. In particular I appreciated a hands-on tech breakfast session dedicated to scoring polysomnography using the updated (2015) AASM guidelines. Real PSG data aren’t as clear-cut as textbook illustrations of REMs or slow waves! And this all reminds us that individual brains vary greatly whilst asleep, as well as when awake, and that the brain-mind is surely active 24/7.
