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Renegotiating the Relationship
Excerpted with permission from the University of Washington Press, from Caring for a Loved One with AIDS: The Experience of Families, Lovers, and Friends
In this chapter, caregivers describe how AIDS has changed their relationship with the sick person, and what's involved in the process of renegotiating the relationship.
Taking On The Caregiver Role
In the beginning, people are likely to form tentative images of themselves as family caregivers, and of the journey they're about to take. They ask themselves, "How will I do this? How involved will I be?" -- questions that will continue during the course of caregiving. They consider their resources, and how much they are prepared to give of themselves.
Modifying Give And Take
Like any relationship, family caregiving is a transaction; a mutual exchange takes place between two people. People who are closely involved expect things from one another in day-to-day life, and expect to give something in return, whether it's emotional support, shared housework, financial assistance, or countless other favors. A caregiver who is also the lover of the person in his care put it this way:
However, the illness may force the person with AIDS to give up his or her end of the bargain as energy and strength wane. Caregivers modify reciprocity, or "give and take," by adjusting the balance of favors and privileges within the relationship. A caregiver in his late forties, who brought his lover to live with him after an illness crisis, discussed the effect AIDS has had in their lives:
The health and the functional ability of the person with AIDS influence the caregiver's sense of how much to give and how much to take. When an acute illness crisis strikes, caregivers are likely to focus strictly on the sick person's needs and relinquish their own. During calm periods in the sick person's health, caregivers are more likely to value reciprocity once again and expect a more balanced give-and-take relationship.
While renegotiating the relationship mainly concerns the caregiver and the person with AIDS, renegotiation can extend to other relationships as well. Caregivers who aren't coupled with the person with AIDS, such as parents or friends, must renegotiate with their own primary partners, friends, and families in order to accommodate the caregiving role. The mother of a twenty-two-year-old man with AIDS worked out a routine with her husband, the sick person's stepfather:
Taking Care Of Yourself
As much as some caregivers wish to be selfless, it's very difficult to suspend completely your own physical and emotional needs: as one caregiver put it, "We're not Mother Theresas." The contradiction between altruistic intentions and human needs of caregivers surfaces quite often. A caregiver may be reluctant to take care of himself or herself, as this lover of a person with AIDS noted:
The desire to please the person with AIDS at all costs can keep the caregiver from even considering that his or her own needs may be as important as the sick person's care. However, most family members who remain in the role of caregiver eventually learn how to care for themselves while caring for a person with AIDS. Support groups and counseling, caregiver courses, and encouragement from close friends can confirm the legitimacy of the caregiver's attention to his or her personal needs, even those that might contradict the wishes of the person with AIDS. A middle-aged man taking care of his lover described how he handled this problem:
Getting Support From The Person With AIDS
If the caregiving relationship is indeed a two-way street, how much support may the caregiver appropriately expect from the person in his or her care? Most caregivers eventually become comfortable expecting something from the person with AIDS, unless the person with AIDS is quite mentally or physically debilitated. One type of support caregivers may want is concrete assistance; for instance, they may ask the person with AIDS to do the laundry while the caregiver is at work.
Coping With Dependency
The ability to rely on another person for help or support is a vital component of close relationships. In caregiving, however, this reliance becomes more intense and less reciprocal. As the sick person's dependency on the caregiver increases, their connection can start to resemble a parent-to-child relationship. One caregiver, who had already raised a teenage son, felt reluctant to go through the same experience with his sick lover:
Increased dependency is difficult because it may diminish the self-respect of the person with AIDS, increase the burden of responsibility on the caregiver, and erode the pre-existing, patterns of give and take in the relationship. Even parents caring for a younger child with AIDS may feel overwhelmed by the additional dependency that accompanies a terminal illness.
Caregivers are usually willing to accept more responsibility during heightened illness, and to put work, school, or other relationships on hold while they devote themselves completely to the person with AIDS. As the sick person's health improves, most caregivers are willing or eager to let go of some of this responsibility, and let the person with AIDS do as much self-care as possible until the next illness crisis.
To balance both their own and the sick person's discomfort with dependency, caregivers often attempt to foster independence in the person with AIDS. In fact, some caregivers invest considerable energy to make sure that the person with AIDS can continue self-care for as long as possible. One lover noted:
When true independence is impossible, some caregivers attempt to create the illusion of independence. They may even deceive the people in their care to protect them from humiliation or physical harm and to reduce the impact of dependency without compromising their care and safety. This bank officer, accustomed to being in charge at work, outwardly relinquished control in order to help his partner feel more independent:
Minimizing Conflict
Relationships, especially intimate ones, are rarely smooth. Struggle and conflict are inevitable as two individuals create and maintain an environment which affects them both. The challenges and difficulties of having AIDS and caring for someone with AIDS can accelerate conflicts in a relationship. The stress of AIDS can especially aggravate pre-existing issues or conflicts, as this caregiver, a political science graduate student, noted:
Friction between the caregiver and the person with AIDS can become more intense as pressures accompanying the illness escalate and patience decreases. Caregivers can become unhappy with certain facets of the sick person's behavior toward them. They may feel the person in their care tries to manipulate or take advantage of them. One young woman caring for a friend wrestled with the problem of where to draw the line with him:
However, the knowledge that the person with AIDS may soon be gone often motivates caregivers to minimize conflicts and resolve differences peacefully. And, sometimes, sheer exhaustion or the need to preserve his or her own energy causes the caregiver to defer to the person with AIDS.
A common strategy caregivers use to keep the peace is carefully "choosing battles." Some things they might have argued about in the past are no longer worth the struggle; caregivers decide which issues are important enough to fight over and which can be let go. This new approach to negotiation helps the caregiver consider which topics to avoid, how best to speak to the person with AIDS, and when to defer to the person with AIDS during an argument.
A caregiver may feel an urgent need to get along well with the person with AIDS, and to interact with him or her in a positive way. With careful management, conflicts may be replaced with a new sense of teamwork and harmony within the relationship, as this gay man observed:
Minimizing conflict and maintaining harmony within the relationship is not without its costs. These costs become more apparent to caregivers as the person with AIDS becomes sicker or as the duration of caregiving increases. Caregivers may begin to feel resentful and angry about constantly having to accommodate the person with AIDS and keep the peace. However, caregivers are usually reluctant to show their anger to the people in their care, so they find other ways to deal with it. Many caregivers find support group meetings and caregiving classes outlets for communicating their frustration. Others may suppress their feelings, expressing them through physical symptoms such as headaches or ulcers, or taking them out on people in their other relationships.
Abandoning The Caregiver Role
For some caregivers, the relationship with the person with AIDS may become so uncomfortable that they eventually decide to abandon the caregiver role, or place the sick person in an institution. And, it is important to note that some people are unwilling or unable to become a primary family caregiver. Even for those who actively assume the caregiving role, the question of whether to remain in this role may resurface periodically. Although most of the caregivers reported that they intended to continue with caregiving until the sick person's death, a small number considered leaving the role before then. For these people, the costs of the relationship outweighed the motivation to stay.
Caregiving is a tough job for everyone involved, and it can be difficult to keep a relationship together through the incredible strain of a life-threatening illness. Caregivers find it helps to anticipate potential problems, to choose battles carefully, to recognize that increased conflict often reflects a normal reaction to the stress and fear of their situation, and to live one day at a time.
Things To Think About
This article was provided by University of Washington Press. It is a part of the publication Caring for a Loved One with AIDS: The Experience of Families, Lovers, and Friends.


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On Monday, Pokémon enthusiasts can challenge the top 12 trainers from this year's World Championships in Pokémon Black 2 and White 2.
The trainers and teams will be distributed over the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection sometime on Monday, and will bring three-time world champion Ray Rizzo's stable of Tyranitar, Garchomp, Cresselia, Hydreigon, Rotom, Metagross along with 11 other trainers and their teams. The integration of real-world Pokémon champs and their teams within the game itself is a first for the series.
Here are the trainers and their rosters.
Correction: The Juniors and Seniors trainers have already been released; the Masters trainers will be available for download on Monday. That means you can already start testing your Pokémon mettle against the world's best.
2012 Masters Division Challenge
World Champ: Ray—Tyranitar, Garchomp, Cresselia, Hydreigon, Rotom, Metagross
World Runner-Up: Wolfe—Hitmontop, Cresselia, Thundurus, Terrakion, Heatran, Exeggutor
World Finalist: Abel—Thundurus, Hitmontop, Latios, Cresselia, Metagross, Tyranitar
World Finalist: Joe—Excadrill, Tyranitar, Gastrodon, Salamence, Rotom, Cresselia
2012 Seniors Division Challenge
World Champ: Toler—Garchomp, Ludicolo, Cresselia, Hydreigon, Rotom, Metgross
World Runner-Up: Jaime—Thundurus, Tyranitar, Metagross, Hitmontop, Latios, Swampert
World Finalist: Nitesh—Heatran, Cresselia, Amoonguss, Metagross, Gyarados, Gastrodon
World Finalist: Henry—Tyranitar, Excadrill, Thundurus, Volcarona, Latios, Hitmontop
2012 Juniors Division Challenge
World Champ: Abram—Cloyster, Thundurus, Volcarona, Landorus, Tyranitar, Hitmontop
World Runner-Up: Brian—Sableye, Tyranitar, Hydreigon, Metagross, Hitmontop, Rotom
World Finalist: Brendan—Metagross, Tyranitar, Hitmontop, Cresselia, Zapdos, Gastrodon
World Finalist: Kippei—Garchomp, Tyranitar, Scizor, Thundurus, Hitmontop, Cresselia


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The Winch That Saved Christmas
We found this over on the PNWJeep forum - thought folks over here might enjoy it as much as we did...
Merry Christmas Everyone!
Darel & Crystal Crowder
* * * * *
The wind was quite heavy on one Christmas Eve,
Santa traveled by ground, behind schedule, if you believe.
He was cruising through California in his mighty red sleigh,
And said, If I don't hurry, there will be no Christmas Day.
Blitzen turned around and said, Santa, you won't fail,
We Reindeer found a short-cut called the Rubicon Trail.
They headed for the trail, but when they got there,
The rocks looked much bigger than they did from the air.
Up hill the reindeer struggled to make the sleigh go,
And getting around those rocks made the progress quite slow.
They tried really hard but there just wasn't a way,
To get axle articulation from an old wooden sleigh.
Where the rocks are quite steep, Santa ran out of luck,
Even with nine reindeer, he finally got stuck.
The Rubicon Trail is no place for a sleigh full of toys,
Santa sighed, I've failed all those good girls and boys!
They'll rise in the morning, leave their rooms and say,
'Under the tree, it is empty, is there NO CHRISTMAS DAY?'
They couldn't budge the sleigh, no matter how hard they tried,
Santa felt so hopeless he sat down and cried.
Suddenly in the distance came a loud clanking sound,
Like an old wind-up toy that's been too tightly wound.
They saw it come over a boulder with a creep,
A rock crawlin', mud boggin' CJ-5 Jeep.
Its fenders were dented, and its sides were all scratched,
The top had big holes that hadn't been patched.
But its tires were big ones, 35 inch,
And on its front bumper was a shiny new winch.
If you're taking the Rubicon, the CJ started to say,
Go with a group and get mud tires for that sleigh.
Santa said, I'm sorry, I feel like a jerk,
The old CJ-5 said nothing, it just went to work.
The sleigh was unstuck and free in a cinch,
Thanks to that CJ and its shiny new winch.
Santa went on to fulfill Christmas day,
With the old CJ-5 leading the way.
Now many years have passed and the reindeer are older,
They don't fly very well when the weather gets colder.
But Santa's still out there every year without fail,
Fulfilling his promise in the air and on the trail.
On Christmas Eve, if you chance to look in the sky,
You just might see him in that old CJ-5.
Crystal Crowder
aka "Pistons Chick"
Club President 2007 - 2014
Piston's Wild Motorsports
WOHVA - Vice President
PNW4WDA Member for 28 Years
(360) 606-1648
"SARCASM - because beating the crap out of people is illegal."
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Calico may possibly evoke images of homespun goodness and demure florals, but Rachel Mosler and Nick Cope, the founders of the bespoke wallpaper company Calico Wallpaper have something considerably a lot more glamorous in mind. Their Brooklyn-based design studio (named, with no trace of irony, for the couple's enviably photogenic calico cat) has rapidly created a name for itself as a purveyor of ravishing wall coverings which have their inception in the sorts of venerable art types and processes that resonate with creative types schooled in the joys of generating items with their hands—something about which an artist (Rachel) and the owner of a design/build firm (Nick) might know a issue or two.
Informed by two ancient paper marbling traditions—the Japanese art of Suminagashi and the Turkish art of Ebru—Calico Wallpaper has arrived at a laboriously exacting process for creating richly detailed, shimmering marbleized compositions that can pretty be described as art. Handmade cotton paper and carefully calibrated applications of metallic pigments that make each composition wholly unique—and no small dose of patience—comprise Calico Wallpaper's recipe for "the largest marbled papers that exist nowadays." Two signature motifs—the lustrous gold-flecked Wabi, inspired by "the landscapes of the ancient east," and the satiny, silvery Lunaris series, channeling "moonscapes and uninhabited space"—are the heart of the Calico brand. And, my, what a dazzling heart.
Images: Calico Wallpaper


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The two surviving children of sports great Jim Thorpe won a critical ruling Friday in federal court that could clear the way for his remains to be removed from a mausoleum in the Pennsylvania town that bears his name and reinterred on American Indian land in Oklahoma, reports the Associated Press.
U.S. District Judge Richard Caputo ruled in favor of sons Bill and Richard Thorpe and against Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, a borough in the northeastern part of the state, saying the town itself amounts to a museum under the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
The borough may appeal the decision.
Meanwhile, the brothers' attorney, Stephen R. Ward, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, told the AP they will now pursue the legal process to have their father, known as the "Greatest Athlete in the World," returned to Sac and Fox land in central Oklahoma.
"They and their brothers and other members of the family have wanted this and have worked for this for a long time," Ward said. "They well remember how the wishes of the Indian members of the family were not respected concerning their father's burial."
After Jim Thorpe died without a will in 1953 at age 64, third wife Patricia Thorpe made a deal with two merging towns in the Poconos, Mauch Chunk and East Mauch Chunk, to have the new town named for him. His remains have been kept for the past six decades in a borough-owned roadside memorial along the Lehigh River.
Caputo wrote that the result may seem at odds with notions of commercial or contract law.
"Congress, however, recognized larger and different concerns in such circumstances, namely, the sanctity of the Native American culture's treatment of the remains of those of Native American ancestry," the judge said in his decision. "It did so against a history of exploitation of Native American artifacts and remains for commercial purposes."


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For better or worse, the production of horror spoofs is showing no signs of stopping. This year saw the release of fifth installment of the Scary Movie franchise, which earned an astounding $71 million. Then, Marlon Wayans' slim budgeted Haunted House earned sixteen times its production costs, and now has a sequel on the way. Finally, the celeb-parodying apocalypse comedy This is The End has already banked $60 million in just two weeks, spurring sequel talk there too. Coming soon into this fray is Hell Baby, an irreverent horror-comedy that boasts an insanely impressive ensemble of comedy stars and had its world debut at the Sundance Film Festival. Check out this freaky flick's first trailer above, or in HD over on Apple.
Hell Baby marks the co-directing debut of Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon, who memorably created Reno 911! . Rob Corddry (Warm Bodies) and Leslie Bibb (A Good Old Fashioned Orgy) star as a happily married couple with a baby on the way. The pair are positively ecstatic to move into their newly acquired home in New Orleans, and even finding out the place's colorful nickname is "the house of blood" can't kill their enthusiasm. That is, until weird things start happening.
Is Bibb's happy homemaker possessed by the devil? What's the deal with the ghost dog prowling the premises? Or that weird creeper in the window? (And no, I don't mean Keegan Michael Key's nosey neighbor). These questions are what the Vatican's elite exorcism team (played by Garant and Lennon, of course) arrives to answer. But you know, while they are at it, they might swing by the French Quarter for a good time with New Orleans party people.
Watching the trailer you can see that the film is stuffed with enticing comedians, including The League's Paul Scheer, Garfunkel and Oates' Riki Lindhome, Human Giant's Rob Huebel, Wet Hot American Summer's Michael Ian Black, and The Kings of Summer's Kumail Nanjiani (just to name a few.) We've been groaning at the influx of cheaply made horror comedies, but with so many stupendously funny people in this cast, and an unhinged sense of humor that even plays in a green band trailer, we have our hopes up for Hell Baby.
Thankfully, Millennium Entertainment picked the picture up out of Sundance, and will be releasing it on Ultra VOD on July 25th. A theatrical release as well as a Premium VOD release will follow on September 6th. But expect to see more of this comedy soon, as a red band trailer seems guaranteed for this R-rated laffer.


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The Hope College Knickerbocker Theatre in downtown Holland is continuing its tradition of showing contemporary independent films through its 2011 spring film series.
The four films being featured are "Last Train Home," "WasteLand," "Another Year," and "The Illusionist." All films will be shown at 7:30 p.m.
° "Last Train Home" is running from Monday, Jan. 17, through Saturday, Jan. 22. "Last Train Home" explores the fractured lives of a migrant family in China caught up in a desperate annual migration. Sixteen years ago, the Zhangs abandoned their young children to find work in the city, consoled by the hope that their wages would lift their children into a better life. "Last Train Home" follows the Zhangs' attempts to change their daughter's course and repair their ruptured family. Intimate and candid, the film paints a human portrait of the dramatic changes sweeping China. The film is unrated with a runtime of 85 minutes.
° "WasteLand" will show on Monday-Wednesday, Jan. 31-Feb. 2; Friday and Saturday, Feb. 4-5; and Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 7-8. Filmed over nearly three years and directed by Lucy Walker, "WasteLand" follows renowned artist Vik Muniz as he journeys from his home base in Brooklyn to his native Brazil and the world's largest garbage dump, Jardim Gramacho, located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. There he photographs an eclectic band of "catadores" - self-designated pickers of recyclable materials. Muniz's initial objective was to "paint" the catadores with garbage. However, his collaboration with these inspiring characters as they recreate photographic images of themselves out of garbage reveals both the dignity and despair of the catadores as they begin to re-imagine their lives. "WasteLand" is unrated and has a runtime of 98 minutes.
° "Another Year," showing Monday-Saturday, March 14-19, is about a married couple that has managed to remain blissfully happy into the pair's autumn years, but is surrounded over the course of the four seasons of one average year by friends, colleagues and family who all seem to suffer some degree of unhappiness. "Another Year" is rated PG-13 for some language and has a runtime of 129 minutes.
° "The Illusionist," showing Monday-Saturday, April 4-9, is about a French illusionist who finds himself out of work and travels to Scotland, where he meets a young woman. Their ensuing adventure changes both their lives forever. "The Illusionist" is rated PG and has a runtime of 90 minutes.
Tickets for all of the films are $6 for regular admission and $5 for senior citizens and children. Updated information may be obtained by calling the Knickerbocker Information Line at (616) 395-7403 or visiting www.hope.edu/arts/knick. The Knickerbocker Theatre is located in downtown Holland at 86 E. Eighth St.


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Crystals For Commitment
Commitment on any level can sometimes be just as difficult to achieve as it is to obtain. We may be seeking commitment from our love interest in the form of fidelity or from our partner in the form of marriage. We also may be looking to achieve more commitment from ourselves in regards to our goals or career. In either case we cannot force what is not coming on its own, however, we can sway the universe in our favor with the power of crystals.
The dedication and motivation you require to gain commitment can be found in the fiery red passion of red colored crystals. Red is the color of passion, energy, and life. It motivates. It is a very strong color—the color of fire and blood. Red crystals are used when the situation needs passion: active, involved, energetic action. Red empowers, uplifts, and engulfs. It cures apathy. It gets things done. Red is action and drive.
Use Scarlet Crystals
While the gorgeous rays of red crystals can bring you the passion and fire energy you need, when seeking out commitment for yourself or in others, a lighter shade of red such as pink, is the most effective. In pink the strong passion and power are toned down to subtler, feminine aspects. This is the color ray of determination, commitment, and caring.
The subtle pink rays of Rhodochrosite are perfect for increasing commitment efforts. Rhodochrosite is a Seeker Builder Crystal. Seeker Builders are minerals that have the internal Crystal Energy Matrix of Seeker and the Earth Power of a Builder. Their crystal structure has the power to help us focus our energy on gaining new skills, and their Earth energy helps us put together the new abilities and use them with other skills and knowledge to accomplish our goals.
Commitment can come easier with the use of Pink Manganocalcite. Pink Manganocalcite is a Seeker Builder Crystal. Seeker Builder crystals are used to focus your efforts to achieve a highly desirable goal. Finding your true love, getting your perfect home, or having a financially secure retirement are all dreams that take a great deal of focus and energy to accomplish. It is a perfect aid for such efforts. It is also a "heart stone" that can cure fear, increase feelings of self-worth, and is helpful in soothing the soul after trauma.
What Authors Say About Crystals
Tiger's Eye
|Marguerite Elsbeth suggests Tiger's Eye which has strong energy to build leadership and authority. If you are seeking answers to your direction in life, use this pendulum.
Tiger's Eye contains the gentle grounding energy of earth. It is stabilizing and can help build confidence and increase one's sense of security. Tiger's Eye can help us to recognize our personal resources and use our abilities to attain our dreams because it is an excellent stone for developing and encouraging discipline and concentration, especially for children.
|Michael Gienger recommends Ruby which will aid you in finding new paths in life and giving you the energy you need to walk those paths.
Ruby leads to joyful commitment to all social tasks. It makes us awake and aware in thought and action, able to perform well, active, courageous, impulses, and spontaneous. It also bestows passion as a driving force, but still prevents any tendencies towards self-destruction in its role as a life-loving stone.
|Naisha Ashian advocates Pyrite which is a "stone of courage" that will aid you to find creative ways to keep your life in balance.
Pyrite encourages one to overcome fears and take action. It can be used to help bring one out of one's shell and encourage one to be more dynamic and confident. It can be an ally in assisting one in taking action to create abundance in one's life.
Commitment is not always easy to obtain nor is it always easy to achieve. We may be looking to receive commitment from someone in our life or attempting to increase our commitment to activities such as our health, our career, or our goals. When looking to increase the feelings of commitment we suggest using pink crystals such as Rhodochrosite and Pink Manganocalcite. You can also try crystals that other authors recommend such as Tiger's Eyes, Ruby, and Pyrite.
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The objective of this study was to identify if hyperarousal is a 24-hour phenomenon in insomnia by comparing sleep during napping between good sleepers (GS) and Insomnia sufferers (INS) (subdivided into paradoxical "PARA-I" and psychophysiological "PSY-I") following a mentally challenging battery of cognitive tests.
Cross-sectional comparisons of GS, PSY-I, and PARA-I.
Participants slept for 4 consecutive nights in the laboratory where PSG was recorded. Upon awakening on mornings 2 and 3, cognitive testing (lasting 90-120 min) was administered, followed by a 20-minute nap.
Fourteen PSY-I, 12 PARA-I, and 23 GS completed the study, comprising home questionnaires, clinical interviews, night PSG recordings, cognitive testing, and nap PSG recordings. All participants were between 25 and 50 years of age and met inclusion criteria for PSY-I, PARA-I, or GS.
On objective nap parameters, GS had a longer total sleep time (TST; p = 0.008) and better sleep efficiency (SE; p = 0.009), than PSY-I and PARA-I, and both groups of INS were awake significantly longer than GS (p = 0.003). Also, PARA-I took significantly more time than GS to fall asleep (p = 0.014). Subjectively reported sleepiness was comparable across the three groups. Positive relationships were observed between SE over the night and SE over the nap the following day.
Results show that GS sleep better than INS during naps following prolonged cognitive testing, suggesting that, in INS, hyperarousal predominates over mental fatigue resulting from these tests. These results may parallel what is observed at night when INS experience increased cognitive load but are unable to fall asleep.
Pérusse AD; Turcotte I; St-Jean G; Ellis J; Hudon C; Bastien CH. Types of primary insomnia: is hyperarousal also present during napping? J Clin Sleep Med 2013;9(12):1273-1280.
Primary insomnia is one of the most prevalent sleep disorders.1 In fact, between 30% and 48% of the general population occasionally reports insomnia related symptoms, and more than 13% suffers from chronic primary insomnia.2,3 Important consequences resulting from this sleep disorder include fatigue, daytime sleepiness, confusion, sudden mood changes, and cognitive alterations.2 The International Classification of Sleep Disorders Second Edition (ICSD-2)4 differentiates 11 types of insomnia; paradoxical insomnia (PARA-I) and psychophysiological insomnia (PSY-I) being the most prevalent types. PARA-I is characterized by misperceptions in sleep quality and quantity. Individuals suffering from PARA-I complain about sleep difficulties although objective sleep measures (polysomnography; PSG) appear to be normal.5 On the other hand, PSY-I is characterized by "relatively" good perceptions of sleep duration and quality along with "real" sleep onset and/ or sleep maintenance difficulties and/or early morning awakenings.1 The maintenance of PSY-I results from the conditioning between sleep related stimuli (e.g. bedroom) and anxious thoughts concerning possible sleep disturbances.6,7 This conditioning contributes to the elevated cognitive activation that is typically reported in insomnia sufferers (INS).8 Irrespective of insomnia types, a difficulty in napping is one of the core features of insomnia.9–14 Thus, napping difficulties might be similar to sleep difficulties observed in INS during the night. There is also a possibility that napping reflects the hyperarousal phenomenon that characterizes insomnia. These hypotheses remain to be tested.
Current Knowledge/Study Rationale: This study was done to determine if there are differences in napping characteristics between GS and INS. These measures will allow us to identify if hyperarousal is a 24-hour phenomenon in INS.
Study Impact: In this study, INS were more hyperaroused during their naps than GS, suggesting that the high level of hyperarousal characterizing INS influences their functioning not only during the night, but also during the day. Also, this study contributes to a better understanding of the phenomenon of hyperarousal and results confirm once more that insomnia is a 24-hour problem in the hyperarousal domain.
There are several models which have attempted to explain insomnia. One of the most popular is the neurocognitive model of insomnia.15 In this model, the authors state that in order to diminish sleep difficulties, INS tend to develop maladaptive behaviors, such as increasing the time spent in bed and going to bed earlier.15 These strategies are not efficient since they contribute to the elevation of somatic, cognitive and cortical activations.16 Cognitive activation is characterized by intrusive thoughts before sleep and cortical activation is measured by cortical activity across different frequency bands. The hyper-arousal of somatic, cognitive and cortical functions contributes to alterations in sensorial and information processing and the formation of long-term memories. Although the neurocognitive model of insomnia15 has been supported by numerous studies measuring quantitative EEG during the night,17,18 it has not yet been validated during naps. Therefore, a study on nap characteristics in insomnia would allow us to identify if hyperarousal is a phenomenon that influences not only nocturnal sleep, but also diurnal sleep. Several studies using a multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) protocol reported data on objective sleep during naps in insomnia, but these variables predominantly relate to sleep onset latency. While some studies failed to find significant differences in MSLT sleep-onset latencies between primary INS and good sleepers (GS),19,20 others showed that INS had longer MSLT sleep-onset latencies than GS,13,14 even though INS reported higher levels of sleepiness.12 Other studies found that following sleep deprivation, INS had longer sleep onset latencies during daytime naps compared to GS.9–11 Previous results thus tend to imply that hyperarousal is a 24-hour phenomenon in insomnia.
It is also possible that the degree of hyperarousal during naps in INS is influenced by activities completed before napping. Knowing the impact of cognitive testing on napping could contribute to the development of new strategies to help INS nap more efficiently when managing their sleep disorder and its associated consequences. To date, the link between activities completed before a nap and hyperarousal is unknown. In the present study, a battery of mentally challenging tasks was administered to participants before their naps. These tasks would most likely contribute to mental fatigue prior going to sleep since they lasted for 90 to 120 minutes and required a high and constant level of concentration. As such, we believe that mentally exhausting tasks before napping may serve as an analogy of insomnia in GS and/or increase cognitive load in INS, which should, according to the neurocognitive model,15 contribute to the exacerbation of hyperarousal and delay sleep onset. To our knowledge, prolonged cognitive testing has never been administered to INS, as well as GS, before a nap. However, in some studies, cognitive tasks were completed before bedtime at night.21,22 In general, it was observed that after cognitive testing, GS took significantly longer to fall asleep than those who did not complete them. Nonetheless, these studies failed to observe significant between group differences on other sleep parameters such as total sleep time and sleep stage distribution.
Finally, the relationship existing between sleep parameters during the night and the corresponding nap in insomnia has been seldom studied. In one study, it was reported that the shorter the objective total sleep time was during the night, the longer it took for INS to fall asleep during the day and the greater their daytime alertness was,14 suggesting that hyperarousal predominates over sleepiness in insomnia. Another study failed to find significant positive relationships, in a population of GS, between nocturnal sleep variables and sleep variables over a nap the next day.23 Therefore, it would be interesting to investigate the relationship between subjective sleepiness before a nap and objective sleep variables over a nap protocol in INS since studies on this component are limited.12 This would allow us to determine if subjective sleepiness contributes to the level of hyperarousal typically observed in INS. There is a possibility that the subjective perception of sleepiness is enough to exacerbate the level of hyperarousal, contributing to a diminution in the quality and quantity of sleep.
Even though sleep and nap difficulties have commonly been reported in PARA-I and PSY-I alike, significant differences between these two categories of insomnia still exist in their clinical presentation. To date, naps have rarely been studied in a population of INS and when they have been, types of INS were undifferentiated. Thus, napping difficulties reported in previous studies were generalized to all types of insomnia, independently of the specific classifications. However, it is possible that one of the types of insomnia (PSY-I or PARA-I) do not face napping difficulties, especially when considering that the objective nocturnal sleep of PARA-I often mirrors that of GS.5 Therefore, individuals suffering from PARA-I and PSY-I should be classified and divided into two independent groups. This clustering would provide a more representative understanding of napping in insomnia.
This study aims primarily at determining if there are significant differences in objective sleep parameters (sleep onset latency [SOL], wake after sleep onset [WASO], number of awakenings, total sleep time [TST], total wake time [TWT], and sleep efficiency [SE]) during naps among three groups of sleepers: PSY-I, PARA-I, and GS after completing a cognitively demanding battery of tests. It was assumed that this battery of tests would contribute to a state of mental exhaustion and/or an increase in cognitive load since testing lasted for a long period (90-120 min) and required an elevated and constant level of concentration. Mental exhaustion should facilitate sleep during napping, whereas high cognitive loading should delay sleep onset by exacerbating the hyperarousal level already present in INS. Therefore, since PSY-I and PARA-I should be more cognitively loaded after testing, we hypothesized that they would have poorer sleep during naps compared to GS, suggesting that hyperarousal predominates over mental exhaustion. Since PARA-I and GS usually have similar sleep profiles, objective sleep parameters of naps would be worse for PSY-I than PARA-I. Therefore, this study seeks empirical validation of the neurocognitive model of insomnia during napping.
This study also aimed at determining the influence of nocturnal sleep parameters on the ability to nap the next day. We suggested that a negative relationship would exist between nocturnal SE and SE during a nap for GS. In fact, the better the participant slept during the night, the harder it would be for him/ her to fall asleep during a morning nap, since sleep homeostasis has been reset. Conversely, since PSY-I and PARA-I should be more hyperaroused than GS, we hypothesized that a positive relationship would exist between SE of the nocturnal sleep and the nap, confirming previous findings.14 Consequently, the less they slept, the harder it would be for them to fall asleep during a nap the next day.
Finally, this research will allow us to determine if the three groups differ on subjective sleepiness (The Stanford Sleepiness Scale [SSS])24 following cognitive testing. Since PSY-I should have the poorest objective sleep parameters on nights before cognitive testing and PARA-I should have the feeling of a bad night's sleep, both groups should be more tired, and therefore should report higher levels of sleepiness than GS. Independently of sleepers' group, a positive relationship would also exist between the SE during nap and scores on the SSS.
Participants were divided in 3 groups: 14 PSY-I, 12 PARA-I, and 23 GS. All participants were aged between 25 and 50 years. To be included in the PSY-I group, participants had to meet the following criteria: (a) a subjective complaint of insomnia characterized by difficulties initiating and/or maintaining sleep; (b) the insomnia must have been present ≥ 3 nights a week for > 6 months; (c) a complaint of ≥ 1 daytime consequence attributed to insomnia; (d) distress or significant difficulties in social and/or occupational functioning; and (e) SE ≤ 85%. Participants in the PARA-I group had to meet the same inclusion criteria as those of the PSY-I group, but their objective SE had to be ≥ 85% and their TST had to exceed 390 minutes. An important discrepancy also had to be present between subjective and objective sleep variables: TST (≥ 60 min discrepancy) and SE (≥ 15% discrepancy). For this study, GS had to report sleeping ≥ 7 h per night, satisfaction with their sleep, and no subjective sleep complaints. In addition to not meeting criteria for insomnia, GS had to report not using sleep-promoting agents and having a subjective SE ≥ 85%.
Exclusion criteria for all participants were: (a) a significant medical disorder, (b) major psychopathology, (c) other sleep disorders, (d) strong dependency to tobacco, (e) ongoing psychological treatment, (f) use of a medication known to affect sleep, (g) score ≥ 23 on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI),25 or (h) a score ≥ 15 on the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI).26 These criteria were consistent with those of the ICSD-2 and those of Bastien and colleagues.27
All participants were recruited through media advertisements as well as email sent to the Laval's university community. Following a brief telephone screening interview, eligible participants were sent a set of questionnaires to evaluate psychological symptoms (BAI and BDI) and sleep difficulties (Insomnia Severity Index [ISI],16 Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes About Sleep [DBAS-16]28 and 2 weeks of sleep diaries16) that they completed at home. Those who met the inclusion criteria for any of the 3 groups were invited to the sleep laboratory for a clinical interview. Upon arrival to the sleep laboratory, informed consent was obtained. The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-IV)29 was administered to rule out major psychopathologies and the Insomnia Diagnosis Interview (IDI)16 to explore the nature of insomnia symptoms. These evaluations were conducted respectively by a graduate student in a clinical psychology program (GSJ) and a sleep specialist (CHB). Participants meeting the study criteria underwent four consecutive nights of PSG recordings in the sleep laboratory.
The mornings following nights 2 and 3, participants completed a battery of cognitive tests lasting between 90 to 120 minutes. The battery was composed of the following event-related potentials paradigms: go/no-go, distraction, and distraction delay. This procedure was approved by the ethics comity of the Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Québec (CER; # 183).
During this test, 2 types of auditory stimuli were presented to participants. Stimulus 1 was standard and frequent in occurrence and stimulus 2 was rare and either easy "target 1" or difficult "target 2." Sounds all had the same duration of 40 ms, a rising time of 2 ms, and an intensity of 70 dB. The inter-stimulus interval varied from 1.3 to 1.7 seconds. Four conditions were presented to participants: (1) Go easy consists of stimulus 1 and target 1; (2) Go difficult consists of stimulus 1 and target 2; (3) NoGo easy (same stimuli as Go easy); and (4) NoGo difficult (same stimuli as Go difficult). Each condition consisted of 200 trials. Instructions differed for each condition: (A) Go conditions: participants have to detect target sounds and ignore standard ones; (B) NoGo conditions: they have to ignore target sounds and detect standard ones.
This test consisted of 7 white letters appearing one after the other on a black computer screen. The stimuli were presented for 800 ms each, with an inter-stimulus interval of 200 ms. Participants were instructed to memorize those letters, and after the last one appeared they had to write the letters in the correct order. There were 2 different conditions, totalling 15 trials each, each trial lasting approximately 7 seconds. During the first condition, office-like noises (e.g., telephone, background noises of people chatting) were played while the letters appeared. During the second condition no noises were played.
This test is similar to the distraction paradigm, except participants had to memorize numbers instead of letters. There was a 10-sec delay before they were allowed to write down the numbers. There were three conditions consisting of 20 trials each, each trial lasting approximately 17 seconds. In the first condition, while waiting, participants heard a one-syllable non-relevant verbal sound. During the second, the sounds comprised 2 different syllables and there were 5 syllables in the third condition.
After cognitive tests, participants completed the SSS. Altogether, cognitive testing lasted between 90 to 120 min, including a 10-min break halfway through the protocol. Tests were followed by a 20-min nap opportunity during which PSG was recorded. Participants were instructed to try napping and were allowed out of bed if not asleep after 15 min (all participants stayed in bed for 20 min). This procedure was followed on both experimental days.
To evaluate psychological symptoms, the BAI, BDI, and the SCID-IV were used. To portray sleep difficulties, at-home questionnaires; the ISI and DBAS-16 were completed by participants. Adequate psychometric properties have been reported for both questionnaires in previous studies.28,30,31 Also, the IDI was used to evaluate the presence of insomnia and its contributing factors. The SSS was completed on mornings 2 and 3 after cognitive testing. This scale was used to evaluate the level of sleepiness of participants after a cognitive demand and just before napping opportunity.
Prior to the nights in the laboratory, participants completed a 2-week sleep diary.16 The sleep diary assesses subjective sleep quality, so participants had to report their sleep habits, such as the number of awakenings, the length of each awakening, the time spent in bed. From these raw data, the following subjective variables were derived: SOL, the amount of time it took to fall asleep; WASO, the amount of time spent awake after sleep onset; frequency of awakenings (FNA), the number of awakenings during the night; TWT, obtained by the sum of SOL and WASO; TST, the subtraction between the time in bed (TIB) and TWT; and SE, the ratio of TST over TIB.
PSG was recorded during 4 nights and 2 naps. The same montage was used for every recording. A standard PSG montage was used including electroencephalography (EEG; F3, F4, Fz, C3, C4, Cz, P3, P4, Pz, O1, and O2), electromyography (EMG; electrodes on chin), electrocardiography (ECG; electrode on heart) and electro-oculography (EOG; one electrode on the supraorbital ridge of the right eye and another on the infraorbital ridge of the left eye) recordings. Reference electrodes were fixed on the mastoids and the ground was on the forehead. On the first night, leg EMG (electrodes on tibialis) and breathing devices were used to detect breathing disorders and limb movements. The inter-electrode impedance was maintained < 5 kΩ. To amplify the signal from the electrodes, a Grass Model 15A54 amplifier system (Astro-Med Inc., West Warwick, USA; gain 10000; bandpass 0.3-100 Hz) was used, and PSG signals were digitized at a sampling rate of 512 Hz with the commercial product Harmonie (Stellate system, Montreal, Canada). PSG recordings during sleep and nap were visually scored (Luna, Stellate system, Montreal, Canada) by experienced sleep technicians using Rechtschaffen and Kales' criteria32 at 20-sec epochs.
In the present study, the objective sleep variables of interest were: SOL, defined as time from lights out to the first epoch of stage 1 sleep; WASO, the time spent awake after sleep onset; TWT, total time spent awake during the nap; TST, the time spent sleeping from lights out to lights on; number of awakenings after sleep onset and; and SE, the ratio of TST over TIB.
One-way ANOVAs were used to compare groups on socio-demographic variables, psychological characteristics, and subjective sleep variables from the sleep diary. Independent samples t-tests were then performed on significant main effects. Repeated measures ANOVAs were used to compare groups on objective sleep parameters of nights (duration of each sleep stage and SOL) and on objective sleep parameters of naps (SOL, WASO, number of awakenings, and TWT). Bonferroni post hoc analyses were then performed on significant main effects. Repeated measures ANCOVAs were computed to compare groups on the other sleep parameters of nights (WASO, TST, TWT, and SE) and naps (SE and TST). Age was used as a covariate since it was significantly different between groups, and it was correlated with WASO (night 2: R = 0.39, p = 0.006; night 3: R = 0.29, p = 0.045), TWT (night 2: R = 0.37, p = 0.009; night 3: R = 0.27, p = 0.059), SE (nap 1: R = -0.30, p = 0.032; nap 2: R = -0.28, p = 0.065; night 2: R = -0.40, p = 0.005; night 3: R = -0.28, p = 0.051), and TST (nap1: R = -0.30, p = 0.041; nap 2: R = -0.26, p = 0.080; night 2: R = -0.42, p = 0.003; night 3: R = -0.35, p = 0.014). A Sidak correction was then performed on significant main effects of groups. Bilateral Pearson correlations were computed between SE of night and SE of its corresponding nap and between the SSS score and SE during the nap. Significance levels were set at 0.05.
Variables of participants who did not fall asleep during naps were included in the above statistical analyses; since all participants stayed in bed for the full 20 min, a value of 20 was attributed for SOL for those who did not sleep.
Statistical analyses showed that PSY-I, PARA-I and GS were similar in gender (p = 0.291), and education (p = 0.900). GS were significantly younger than PSY-I and PARA-I (p = 0.050), age varying between 25 and 49. There was no significant difference between INS groups concerning the duration of insomnia (p = 0.260), ranging from 0.25 to 30 years. Analyses also revealed that the severity of insomnia symptoms measured by the ISI varied between 0 and 9 and was significantly greater in PSY-I and PARA-I than GS (p < 0.001). Both groups of INS reported more depressive symptoms (BDI scores ranging from 0 to 20 [p = 0.001]), and anxiety symptoms (BAI scores ranging from 0 to 15 [p = 0.002]), than GS; and scores on the DBAS-16 were significantly higher for PSY-I and PARA-I than GS (p < 0.001), with scores ranging from 17 to 108. Finally, analyses revealed significant differences among groups for all variables on the sleep diary (p < 0.001), values for SOL varying from 1.72 to 116.79 min, from 0 to 105.36 min for WASO, from 223 to 552 min for TST, and from 51.90% to 99.90% for SE. Again, INS reported longer SOL and WASO while reporting shorter TST and lower SE than GS. Therefore, subjectively, INS had poorer sleep quality and quantity than GS. Table 1 illustrates means and SDs for each of the above variables.
Means (SD) of sociodemographic, psychological data and subjective sleep variables of psychophysiological INS (PSY-I), paradoxical INS (PARA-I), and good sleepers (GS)
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No significant differences between groups were found for all objective sleep parameters of nights (0.208 ≥ p ≥ 0.293); SOL ranging from 0.67 to 75.33 min, SE from 68% to 97%, WASO from 3.33 to 151.33 min, TST from 349 to 519.33 min, and TWT from 6.33 to 131 min. For the duration of sleep stages, no effect of groups was found for any stages (0.253 ≥ p ≥ 0.813). The duration of stage 1 varied from 0 to 267 min, from 147.33 to 360 min for stage 2, from 0 to 68.67 min for stage 3, from 0 to 49.67 for stage 4, and from 65.67 to 169.33 for REM sleep. Since no significant differences were found between groups for objective sleep parameters on either night, no sleep patterns between groups could be identified. See Table 2 for more details on objective sleep parameters of both nights.
Means (SD) of polysomnographic objective sleep parameters of nights of psychophysiological INS (PSY-I), paradoxical INS (PARA-I), and good sleepers (GS)
On objective sleep parameters of naps (naps were treated separately), analyses revealed main effect of groups for SOL (p = 0.008), values ranging from 0 to 20 minutes. Post hoc analyses indicated that PARA-I had a significantly longer SOL than GS (p = 0.014), and the difference between PSY-I and GS was marginally significant (p = 0.078), PSY-I having a longer SOL than GS. A significant difference was also found for TWT (p = 0.003), with PSY-I (p = 0.019), and PARA-I (p = 0.010) spending significantly more time awake during their naps than GS. Values of TWT varied from 0.33 to 20 minutes. No main effects of groups were observed for WASO (p = 0.110) and number of awakenings (p = 0.427), with WASO varying from 0 to 19.67 min and number of awakenings from 0 to 3.
When controlling for age, analyses showed a significant group effect for TST (p = 0.008), where TST was significantly shorter for PSY-I (p = 0.021) and PARA-I (p = 0.034) than GS. Values of TST ranged between 0 to 20 min. Finally, values of SE varied from 0 to 98% and was significantly different between groups (p = 0.009), SE being significantly higher for GS than PSY-I (p = 0.025) and PARA-I (p = 0.036). Conversely, when analyses compared objective measures from the first nap with those of the second one, no main effect of naps was found. Therefore, objective nap measures were similar on both napping opportunities. In sum, analyses on objective sleep parameters of naps showed that GS had a better capacity to nap than PARA-I and PSY-I. See Table 3 for more comprehensive details on objective parameters of naps.
Means (SD) of polysomnographic objective sleep parameters of naps and subjective sleepiness of psychophysiological INS (PSY-I), paradoxical INS (PARA-I), and good sleepers (GS)
For the subjective sleepiness measure, analyses revealed no effect of groups for the SSS (p = 0.204), and scores varied from 1 to 5. Table 3 illustrates means and SDs for subjective sleepiness before naps from the SSS.
Bilateral Pearson correlation between SE of night 2 and SE of nap 1 was significant (R = 0.35, p = 0.015). Also, SE of night 3 and SE of nap 2 were significantly positively correlated (R = 0.31, p = 0.038). For both bilateral Pearson correlations, Mahalanobis distances confirmed the absence of bivariate outliers at a critical value of p ≤ 0.001. Figure 1 illustrate these relationships on scatterplots. When analyses were computed on each group separately, no significant correlations were found between night 2 and nap 1 (PSY-I: R = 0.38, p = 0.201; PARA-I: R = 0.22, p = 0.500; GS: R = 0.24, p = 0.276) as well as between night 3 and nap 2 (PSY-I: R = 0.40, p = 0.179; PARA-I: R = 0.26, p = 0.467; GS: R = 0.15, p = 0.509).
(A) Correlation between sleep efficiency (SE) of night 2 and SE of nap 1. (B) Correlation between SE of night 3 and SE of nap 2.
No significant correlation was found between the SSS and SE of nap 1 (R = 0.22, p = 0.313) as well as with SE of nap 2 (R = 0.33, p = 0.129). Mahalanobis distances revealed no bivariate outliers for both correlations at the critical value of p ≤ 0.001. When bilateral Pearson correlations were performed on each group independently, no significant correlations were found between SSS and SE of nap 1 (PSY-I: R = 0.18, p = 0.568; PARA-I: R = -0.22, p = 0.517; GS: R = 0.22, p = 0.313) or between SSS and SE of nap 2 (PSY-I: R = 0.19, p = 0.543; PARA-I: R = 0.25, p = 0.483; GS: R = 0.33, p = 0.129).
In the present study, GS and INS, classified in psychophysiological and paradoxical types, were compared on sleep parameters and characteristics during naps following a mentally challenging battery of cognitive tests. Socio-demographic data revealed that both groups of INS were significantly older than GS. Until now, there has been no data available to our knowledge to illustrate the impact of age on PSG recordings variables during a single nap. However, a review paper on MSLT revealed that age contributed to a significant increase in MSLT latency.33 Since groups were significantly different in age, this was factored in our statistical design. Therefore, we could ensure the significant difference of age between groups did not contribute to the significant differences between groups found for some nap parameters.
Results failed to show significant differences between GS, PSY-I, and PARA-I on objective sleep parameters during both nights of PSG recording. These results might be explained by the fact that INS usually sleep better in the laboratory than at home and that GS have a poorer sleep quality in the laboratory. Therefore, sleep patterns of these two populations during laboratory PSG recordings tend to be similar, and the differences that actually exist between them are attenuated. The poorer quality of sleep obtained by GS during laboratory nights might result in some kind of partial sleep deprivation, which could explained why GS slept better during their naps following prolonged cognitive testing compared to both groups of INS. In fact, GS fell asleep significantly faster, their TST was longer, their TWT was shorter, and their SE was greater than PSY-I and PARA-I. Conversely, our results also suggest that for INS, hyperarousal appears to predominate over mental exhaustion following cognitive testing. One explanation might be that completing the battery of cognitive tests increased the cognitive load, which in turn contributed to hyperactivation of cognitive functions in INS, and prevented them from falling asleep. As for GS, prolonged cognitive testing most likely did not contribute to cognitive arousal but more to mental fatigue, as they slept relatively well during naps. Results obtained for objective sleep parameters during naps support the neurocognitive model of insomnia stating that cognitive arousal contributes to poor sleep in insomnia.15 These results may parallel what is observed at night when INS experience cognitive loading and are unable to fall asleep. This finding suggests that the neurocognitive model is not only applicable to nighttime sleep but also to napping, and it could be an explanation for the inability to nap characterizing INS.15,34
Data from the SSS completed at the end of cognitive testing and before napping support previous observations and confirm the present hypothesis, that hyperarousal contributes to the inability to nap. In fact, even though the analyses did not reach significance for the SSS, PSY-I had higher scores than PARA-I and GS, and the scores of PARA-I on the SSS were greater than GS. These results suggest that after prolonged cognitive testing PSY-I reported being the sleepiest, followed by PARA-I and then GS. So, both groups of INS subjectively reported being sleepy, but they were, in general, unable to nap, which suggests again that hyperarousal predominates over sleepiness in insomnia. That said, it could be suggested that GS were as mentally exhausted as PSY-I and PARA-I after testing, but since they were not as cognitively aroused, they slept better. There is also the possibility that partial sleep deprivation explains napping abilities in GS.
We found significant positive correlations between SE during the night and SE of the nap on the next day. As such, it appears that the better participants slept during the night, the better was their ability to nap the next day. The opposite is also true; a low SE for the night led to a low SE during nap on the following day. These results are difficult to reconcile with the literature presented earlier and with other results. Still, nightly and daily sleep efficiencies varied together only when the total sample was taken as a whole and not when groups were studied independently. It is possible that the few observations in each group lead to a lack of power, hence a lack of within-group significant relationship between night and day. Nonetheless, it is also possible than instead of varying with the present night of sleep, daily SE might vary with the SE of the subsequent night of sleep. As is often acknowledged in CBT-I (in the sleep restriction module and/or sleep hygiene instructions16), napping during the day may well influence or borrow on the following night of sleep in INS but not on the nocturnal SE of GS. Our sample had more GS than INS as a whole and might just reflect this last statement. Still, this hypothesis remains to be tested in a larger sample and also on subsequent days and nights.
Alternatively, one might argue that for INS, a greater sleep pressure would build up as a result of the quality of sleep during the night, which would equate to a better nap opportunity the next day. However, the fact that INS tend to increase their time spent in bed in order to increase their sleeping time would most likely contribute to an elevation of hyperarousal, which would diminish the nap opportunity. Additionally, a 20-minute window was used for the naps, similar to a MSLT protocol. Maybe it is not long enough to fall asleep when participants are tired; the time required to fall asleep might be higher in this case. There is also the possibility that SE during the nap would have been normal after a bad night sleep if participants were allowed to nap as long as they wish and if the time pressure to fall asleep was removed. However, the observation obtained in the present study confirmed results previously found.14
In general, the results have shown no significant differences between PSY-I and PARA-I for nap parameters. Even though diagnostic criteria for PSY-I and PARA-I are different,4 there is a possibility that the level of hyperarousal during the day is similar for both groups of INS, which would explain why no significant differences were found between these two groups for objective nap parameters. Also, if levels of hyperarousal are independent of the amount of nocturnal sleep obtained objectively, it would explain the subjective reports of poor sleep in PARA-I.5 Nonetheless, the distinction between PSY-I and PARA-I is not as clear when hyperarousal is taken into account. Future studies on objective nap parameters in INS should take this into consideration and combine PSY-I and PARA-I since there is a possibility that hyperarousal influences to a comparable extent the quality of naps in both types of insomnia. However, this hypothesis also remains to be tested.
The small number of participants in each group limits the interpretations of our results. Therefore, we have to be careful when generalizing and a replication with a larger sample is warranted. Also, to ensure participants actually experienced mental fatigue after completing the battery of cognitive tests, a scale of mental exhaustion should have been used. This would have allowed determining as to whether mental exhaustion contributed to the difficulty in napping in INS. Moreover, we also assume that cognitive testing had an impact on sleep characteristics of naps, but it is possible that the same results would have been obtained in the absence of mentally exhausting tests. Therefore, the presence of a nap not preceded by cognitive testing would have been useful to identify if the results obtained were influenced by the tests or if they had no impact on naps. It would have allowed us to determine if diagnosis alone was sufficient to explain between-group differences on sleep parameters during naps or if prolonged cognitive tests contributed to the results.
To conclude, it seems that INS, independent of type, are more hyperaroused than GS during napping. This observation suggests that the high level of hyperarousal characterizing insomnia influences their functioning not only during the night, but also during the day. Finally, this study contributes to a better understanding of the phenomenon of hyperarousal and gives some insights for future research in the field of insomnia. Additionally, these results confirm once more that insomnia is a 24-hour problem, particularly in the hyperarousal domain. Nonetheless, more studies need to explore nap parameters in a population of INS in order to support these results.
This was not an industry supported study. This study was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR; # 49500, 86571) and les Fonds de Recherche en Santé du Québec (FRSQ; # 23028). The authors have indicated no financial conflicts of interest. The study was conducted at Laboratoire de Neurosciences Comportementales Humaines du Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Québec, Québec, Canada.
The authors thank Sonia Petit for analysing PSG recordings and all the research assistants who helped in cognitive testing and data entry.
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I am very, very lucky that God saw it fit to bestow me with a mad love of all things grain-y and wheat-y, alongside my obsession with all thing pork and fatty. It's really a mystery and a miracle, how the world works. My love for that which is supremely bad for me, is gracefully counter-balanced (I hope!) with my craving for healthy grains/wheat/oats. As much as I can wax poetic about chicharon and bacon, I can also pay the same tribute to things like bran flakes and muesli.
Bran flakes, muesli, granola, oatmeal…any form of grain, wheat, oat, grit, or grub. I love them all. Maybe even those I have yet to meet (and I do look forward to that meeting!). There is just something about their nutty, fiber-y personality that makes me keep coming back for more.
Their being good for me has nothing to do with my love. I don't love foods because they are good or healthy, or part of the Super Duper Six. I love them because of their taste and texture…because of the way they make my taste buds smile when I have them. And this year I have decided to do just that – make my taste buds smile. No counting calories, no diets, no equations and conversions. And no referring to food as "carbs" and "protein" and "fat". I'll say their names loud and proud (Rice! Veal cheeks! Goose lard!). I'll eat what I want, and not bother with what I don't. I will listen to my body – its needs, and wants, and cravings. And hopefully, in the midst of this, I will find my own personal equilibrium – set by my body and its secret rhythms, and not by anyone else's rules and regulations. In 2008, food will be my friend.
An ambitious goal, perhaps even dangerous, but I'm determined. So thank goodness that chicharon is not the only thing I like to eat!
(Adapted from Market Manila)
- 2 cups old fashioned oats (not instant or "quick")
- 1 1/4 cups nuts (I used a combination of walnuts, cashew, and fresh pili)
- 1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 1/2 cup dried fruit (I used a combination of dried figs, raisins, and dried mangoes)
– Mix the oats and nuts in a bowl – I used my hands.
– In a separate bowl mix the oil and the honey. Whisk briskly with a wire whisk until oil and honey become a homogenous, sticky syrup.
– Pour the honey/oil mixture onto the oats/nuts mixture and stir well until thoroughly blended.
– Place mixture on a foil-lined cookie sheet and spread out flat and even.
– Place pan in a 180-190C oven and roast for about 30 minutes. After the first 10 minutes, stir the mixture. Stir again once or twice before it's done. Remove from the oven to cool (I transferred the granola to another cookie sheet lined with parchment paper to cool).
– When cool add the fruit and toss until combined. Store in a clean, dry, and airtight container.
This recipe is based on this one from Marketman. I had bookmarked it eons ago and, in my usual hundred-years-to-action fashion, I only tried it now. But it is never too late for granola…even more so when it is as simple and as yummy as this! I halved most of the quantities here (I'm probably the only one going to be eating this in my place) and made it more a general formula than a strict recipe. I just indicated the volume for fruits and for nuts, and you can feel free to use whatever combinations of each your heart desires.
I had some to top my yogurt (as pictured here), and will be having future breakfasts with it in my cereal with milk, and sprinkled on my oatmeal. This is my first attempt at making granola from scratch and I must say, I am quite pleased 🙂 I have even set some apart for my mom! I hope she likes it 🙂 Don't forget! Deadline to submit your entries for this round of Hay Hay it's Donna Day is this Saturday, January 26. The theme is Pizza and I can't wait to see what you come up with! I have already received entries and I don't envy those who will be doing the voting…they are all fantastic and the choice will be a tough one!


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Students Reflect on Life-Changing Tripsby Howard W. Hewitt • March 3, 2010 Share:
Wabash men have arrived at destinations across the country and around the world for a spring break of immersion learning, service, performance, and sports. Wabash's immersion learning is unique in that it is part of the students' tuition. They provide their own spending money and cover some meals.
Students on nearly every trip will be writing daily about their experiences. Read about the life-changing experiences Wabash students have on these trips by clicking on any link below.
2010 Immersion Learning
Professor of Religion Bob Royalty is with 14 students in Turkey from his class in the History of Christianity. "The theme is 'The Seven Cities of the Apocalypse,' of which we're visiting Laodicea, Ephesus, Smyrna, Sardis, and Pergamon (in that order, ancient names)," Royalty said. "But we're also going to Troy and Istanbul, neither of which are in Revelation, and Hierapolis, an ancient city near Laodicea."
Modern Languages Professor Greg Redding is traveling with 13 students based in Cologne, Germany, for a 200-level class in German Language & Culture.
English Professor Warren Rosenberg is repeating his popular trip to New York with his Studies in Media class that has 15 students enrolled. Professor Crystal Benedicks is traveling with the group.
The jungle-like conditions of the Everglades isn't the glamour of New York, but eight Advanced Ecology students are with Professor David Krohne in Florida for a fascinating week in one of the best biology labs in the nation. This is a frequent trip to the Everglades for Krohne and his Biology students.
Political Science Professor David Hadley has 13 students in Washington D.C. for his Congress & the Executive Branch class. They will meet with key decision makers and people who shape national policy.
Music Professors Vanessa Rogers and Larry Bennett are visiting London and Paris as part of their Renaissance & Baroque Era class experience. That group can be seen in picture at above right in front of the gate of Buckingham Palace.
As part of Wabash College's business sequence, 10 students are in Indianapolis for the Marketing Immersion Program. They will spend a week with Roland Morin '91 learning principles and strategies of marketing. The week include a trip to South Bend Thursday where they learned the diversity of marketing challenges. (Photo on Student Page)
Singing, Serving & Swinging: Spring Break 2010
The Glee Club is on the road to Chicago and Cincinnati. The Spring Break tour is an annual event for the Wabash College ambassadors. Click here for a schedule of their performances in Danville and St. Charles, Ill., as well as two performances in Cincinnati. .
There are two repeat and one new service trips this spring. Football players made their first trip to Botswana, Africa, two years ago and will return for the third time this year. The group has expanded to 23 athletes and students across campus. The Christian ministry trip includes youth sports camps and prison outreach.
Professor of Religion Jon Baer is with 11 students in New Orleans for the third year. The young men helped with Hurricane Katrina cleanup the past two years. Baer said the students may actually be building new homes on this year's trip.
Junior Jake Ezell has put together a new Wabash club aimed at drawing pre-med students into the field of international assistance for children.
"Our trip to El Salvador is through the Wabash College Chapter of the Foundation for the International Medical Relief of Children (FIMRC)," Ezell said. New Alex Moseman photos posted in Wednesday's blog update!
The Schroeder Career Center is again sponsoring its popular 'Jim Graham Externship' program in Washington D.C. Six students are housed with Wabash alums in the nation's capital.
Little Giant athletes have a full week of travel and competition.
Cory Stevens' 2010 baseball team is traveling south to Alabama, Texas, and Oklahoma for a 12-game series. Sports information director Brent Harris will be traveling with the baseball team and not only post the usual results but will coordinate blogging from team members.
The Wabash tennis team is in Orlando, Florida this year to compete during Spring Break. The tennis team took a break Thursday night to take in the NBA's Orlando Magic. (photo at left).
Wabash golfers are in Arizona to play some of the top courses in the Phoenix area during their eight-day trip. The Little Giants will play in a tournament Thursday, but will also practice at Ocotillo, Pointe Hilton, Wigwan, Desert Forest, and Augusta Ranch. Wabash alumni from around the Phoenix area will join the team during their trip, as well.
In photos, top to bottom: Students in Professor David Krohne's Advanced Ecology class explore the New Mangrove Islands, Florida Bay. Professor David Hadley and his class at the U.S. Supreme Court. Professor David Maharry joined Professor Jon Baer and worked side-by-side with students building homes in New Orleans. The Little Giant baseball team got a tour of the new NFL Cowboy's stadium in Dallas during their southern state swin.


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The outbreak of West Nile virus in the United States is rapidly becoming a significant threat to public health. With the peak season just beginning, the mosquito-borne virus has been found in animals (primarily birds and horses) in 38 states, and has caused 103 serious infections and three deaths in humans in 15 states.
Last year, there were more than 4,000 cases and almost 300 deaths. We may be on the verge of an epidemic, but there is no treatment and a vaccine is at least a decade away.
Public health officials have recognized the seriousness of the problem, but too often their response has been tepid and designed to avoid controversy. The Centers for Disease Control Web site, for example, advises people to avoid mosquito bites by covering up, using insect repellent, and staying indoors during peak mosquito hours. Missing from its list of suggestions, however, is any mention of insecticides or widespread spraying. Anyone curious about the role of pesticides in battling mosquitoes and West Nile is directed to a maze of other Web sites.
In the absence of a vaccine, elimination of the organism that spreads the West Nile virus -- in this case, the mosquito -- is the key to prevention, but fundamental shortcomings in public policy limit the tools that are available.
In 1972, on the basis of dubious data about toxicity to fish and migrating birds, the Environmental Protection Agency banned virtually all uses of the pesticide DDT, an inexpensive and effective pesticide once widely deployed to kill disease-carrying insects. Allowing political sentiment to trump science, regulators also cited the possibility that DDT posed a cancer risk for humans -- an assertion based on studies showing an increased incidence of the illness in mice that were fed extremely high doses of the pesticide.Continue reading the main story
Not only did government regulators minimize scientific evidence of the safety and effectiveness of DDT, they also failed to appreciate the distinction between its large-scale use in agriculture and more limited application for controlling carriers of human disease. Although DDT can be a toxic substance, there is a big difference between applying large amounts of it in the environment -- as American farmers did before it was banned -- and applying it carefully and sparingly to fight mosquitoes and other disease-carrying insects. A basic principle of toxicology is that the dose makes the poison.
The regulators who banned DDT also failed to take into consideration the inadequacy of alternatives. Because it persists after spraying, DDT works far better than many pesticides now in use, some of which are toxic to fish and other aquatic organisms. (While its longevity poses risks, they are minimized with targeted use.) Also, the need to spray other insecticides repeatedly drives up costs. For example, budget problems compelled Maryland this summer to turn down requests for spraying from communities badly infested with mosquitoes.
Given the long-term ineffectiveness of other pesticides, DDT remains the best alternative to fighting mosquitoes and the West Nile virus. It's worth recalling that DDT worked before, eradicating malaria from the United States. It's worth recalling, too, that since DDT was widely banned, insect-borne diseases like malaria and dengue fever have been on the rise worldwide. The World Health Organization estimates that malaria kills about one million people annually, and that there are 300 million to 500 million new cases each year.
How can we drain the public policy swamp? First, the government should undertake a re-evaluation of the voluminous data on DDT that has been compiled since the 1970's. It should also make DDT available for mosquito control in the United States.
Second, the United States should oppose international strictures on DDT. This includes retracting American support for the United Nations Persistent Organic Pollutants Convention, which makes it exceedingly difficult for developing countries -- many of which are plagued by malaria -- to use DDT.
Finally, federal officials should embark on a campaign to educate local authorities and citizens about the safety and potential importance of DDT. Right now, most of what people hear is the reflexively anti-pesticide drumbeat of the environmental movement.
Because DDT has such a bad rap, it will be politically difficult to resurrect its use. But we should begin the process now. In the meantime, we'll just slather on the insect repellent, slap, scratch -- and occasionally become infected with a life-threatening but preventable disease.Continue reading the main story


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Writing an article that you know is going to be published the day after a potentially game-changing election is a challenge. But even without knowing the outcome, there are a couple of things about this election that will certainly be true: Conservatives will be angry that they haven't ushered in the new Ayn Rand utopia, and liberals will be denied their dream of bringing Swedish Social Democracy to America.
The fact that neither understands what any of this means is beside the point; there will be abundant commentary today and everyone will be angry about something. I, on the other hand, having the benefit of foresight, already know whom to blame. If you didn't vote yesterday, it's all your fault.
The refrain I kept hearing, especially among young people, was that they just weren't inspired to participate this year. As though a politician's inability to motivate somehow gave them permission to sit this one out. Participation is a privilege and an obligation, not some dinner party you skip if you suspect it won't be entertaining, or there won't be an open bar.
We have gotten too comfortable with asking for inspiration and too lazy to do the work. It is up to us to force the politicians to engage, to be empowered to move this country forward and not the other way around.
When less than half of us vote, it means that the distorted messages of hate and fear permeate the airwaves. The polarization of the parties was fed by a constant diet of half-truth and misinformation that did nothing but divide this country, funded by concealed entities with unclear agendas.
When money has to stir only 22% of the country to swing an election, it's too easy to market to our most base emotions regardless of what end of the spectrum you call home. What we end up with is political rants and polarizing ideological arguments and no real discussions or solutions.
And because you didn't vote, they got away with it.
When elections are about getting more of your party's people to vote than the other party's people, it isn't democracy anymore; it's merely a game, and we are all being played. Participation changes the rules and forces the message to play to all ears. Politicians will be different, the arguments will be different, and the solutions will be just that — solutions.
As much as we might be tempted to blame the Koch Brothers or George Soros, Fox News or MSNBC, the Nation or the Wall Street Journal, they are products of our own bad behavior.
So, if Grandma lands on the street because her privatized Social Security account dried up the stock market crash of 2024 or ends up in front of a death panel manned by a bunch of Maoist liberals, it's because ideological fringe groups took over our country while you were all watching TMZ and "Dancing with the Stars."
So if this country goes to hell in a hand basket, it's not the fault of the liberals or conservatives who voted yesterday. It's the fault of those of you who didn't.
MICHAEL TEAHAN lives in the Adams Hill area of Glendale with a clear view of the Verdugo Mountains so he can keep an eye on things. He can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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skyhawk133 needed a new t-shirt design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 50 designs submitted by 22 freelance designers.
Dream.In.Code is a community of over 300,000 web developers and programmers. These t-shirts will be given away to members. Our last design was a huge success and we've given out all the shirts. It's time for a new design with a little more style!
The t-shirt will be worn by existing members of Dream.In.Code. These are geeky, passionate programmers.
Colors: Design will be printed in White, Black, and Grey Scale on a Texas Longhorns orange shirt.
Design Ideas: White, Black, and Greys in a "dream" design. Lots of texture/spatter. 1's and 0's. Lines of code. Think abstract patterns/design with grungy texture/spatter. Logo should be prominent, but doesn't have to be the focus. See below for logo details.
I've attached what our last t-shirt looked like. I like the abstract, dream like feel, but want this new design to have a totally different look with a lot more texture and grungy feel to it.
Logo (plain text):
Font: OCR Extended
Kerning: -50
(See http://www.dreamincode.net for actual logo example)
Maximum Print Size: 12" x 15"
For Vector Graphics
* We accept vector graphics in the following formats: .eps, .ai, .cdr
* Vector graphics should be in PANTONE coated spot color
* All fonts should be converted to curves
* No complex blends or overlay tint effects
* Dimensions for the design should be specified with your artwork.
For Bitmap Graphics
* We accept raster graphics in the following formats: .psd, .bmp, .gif, .jpg, .tif. A layered PSD file is preferred
* Design must be actual print size and at least 200dpi


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Facebook joins Nasdaq 100, may boost stock
As a new member of the Nasdaq 100 index, Facebook's comeback may get a boost on Wall Street.
The closely watched index represents the 100 most valuable, non-financial stocks trading on Nasdaq. Facebook (FB) shares will be added Dec. 12.
Analysts say being in the Nasdaq 100 is a potential boon for shares of the No. 1 social-networking giant.
The Nasdaq 100 is a Who's Who of big technology companies, such as Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG) and Microsoft (MSFT).
Big chunks of Nasdaq 100 company shares are often bought and held long term by exchange traded funds and major mutual funds that invest mostly or only in key stock indexes.
Inclusion in the index could even be considered a victory for Facebook, which has struggled mightily to appeal to investors since its May 18 initial public offering that was mired in technical problems.
"The company is a lot more seasoned now," says Francis Gaskins of IPO Desktop Premium, a website devoted to IPOs. Being in the Nasdaq 100 "takes away some of the stain of the botched IPO."
Facebook's addition to the the Nasdaq 100 underscores the company's stock price rebound. Shares made their debut at $38 apiece, but quickly fell apart as investors discovered more about the IPO's problems and began to worry about the company's strategy to make money off its massive base of users.
The shares peaked at $43 but then plummeted to just under $17.75 a share in September.
Facebook stock finished up 25 cents, 0.9%, to $27.71 Wednesday, 44% higher than the stock's recent Nov. 9 low of $19.21 apiece.
The stock has rallied in recent weeks, despite concerns about a series of post-IPO lockup expirations that released hundreds of millions of shares for sale on the open market. Many feared the huge supply rush would push Facebook's shares even lower.
Now, investors who build portfolios based on the Nasdaq 100 are likely to take a closer look at the stock, says Joseph Bonner of Argus Research in an e-mail to USA TODAY.
"Inclusion in the Nasdaq 100 should be a positive for (Facebook), since a bunch of index funds and ETFs now have to buy to maintain a match with the benchmark," Bonner says.
The exchange rebalances the Nasdaq 100 index each year as the values of companies in it change. Facebook is joining the Nasdaq 100 early due to the departure of outsourcing firm Infosys (INFY), which is moving to the larger New York Stock Exchange.
Including all classes of its stock, Facebook would rank 13th in the index, with a market value of nearly $60 billion, behind eBay (EBAY) but ahead of News Corp. (NWS).
Including only Facebook's A shares, valued at $30 billion, the company would be the 24th most valuable company in the index.
Apple, even after its $37.05 fall, 6.4%, to $538.79 Wednesday, remains the most valuable stock in the index, with a $516 billion market value.
Investors had largely anticipated Facebook's addition to the index this year, explaining why there wasn't more reaction to the announcement, says Josef Schuster of IPO tracker IPOX Schuster.
Investors are likely far more interested in when Facebook might be added to the broader Standard and Poor's 500 index, which isn't likely anytime soon, Schuster says. "The S&P is much more important."


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The ColdFusion team has put together a survey that gives you an opportunity to provide your feedback on ColdFusion 9. The survey also lets you indicate you wish list for the next version of ColdFusion.
So, don't wait any longer, just visit the URL below, and provide your feedback. The entire survey should take not more than a couple of minutes.


text: A corporate seal is a tool used to stamp or emboss documents with your organization's name, year of incorporation, and state of incorporation. Although a corporation is not legally required to use a corporate seal, many corporation's choose to use one on official documents such as stock certificates, contracts and deeds. LegalZoom's steel embossers are easy to use and built to last.


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Scott Callard via Crowdrise
April 22, 2012
BENEFITING: The Nature Conservancy
ORGANIZER: The Nature Conservancy
EVENT: Marine Corps Marathon 2012
EVENT DATE: Oct 28, 2012
The Nature Conservancy wrote -
The Nature Conservancy's Team Nature is joining the Marine Corps Marathon on October 28, 2012. We want to make "the people's marathon," as the Marine Corps event is often known, a marathon for people and nature.
Our running team is raising funds to help protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay and other important natural habitats across our regionand around the world.
The 26.2-mile MCM course passes by some of our most treasured national monuments and is within easy driving distance of the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia Coast Reserve and Central Appalachians.
Here's what your $400 fundraising minimum can accomplish:
- Restore more than 2,000 baby oysters to reefs in the Chesapeake Bay, providing habitat for rockfish and crabs.
- Buy 2,000 longleaf pine seedlings to plant, helping restore one of America's most diverse and endangered forest systems.
- Conduct a prescribed burn on four acres at Warm Springs Mountain Preserve to help restore pine-oak forests.
- And when you help us reach our collective MCM goal of $30,000, your efforts will help protect even more lands and waters for the benefit of people and nature.
Participation Details:
- By joining Team Nature at the Marine Corps Marathon, you agree to raise $400, which includes your $92 registration fee, by August 15.
- The first 100 members of the team to raise $400 each will have a guaranteed entry to the marathon.
Join Team Nature Conservancy:
1. Click the JOIN THE TEAM button.
2. You'll get a page just like this one under your name to customize! Share some information about yourself and why you have chosen to run the Marine Corps Marathon on behalf of nature. Add photos of the Chesapeake Bay, local forests or your favorite place in nature.
3. Share your page with friends and family via Facebook and Twitter and encourage them to support you and nature!
Not running? You can still donate to Team Nature and support The Conservancy's work.
No Federal or Marine Corps endorsement of advertisers or sponsors is implied.
The Team: $10,383 TOTAL RAISED SO FAR
Donor Comments
DarLyn and John
As long standing members of the Nature Conservancy, we are honored to be able to support a WebStar!!! 7 years ago


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Can you imagine an especial edition of TAR but with celebrities? I think they could not get out of the US without being recognised or being chased . But let's imagine that it could happen without them being recognised or chased, which couples you' will like to see? For me: Brad & Angelina/ Jennifer Lawrence & Josh Hutcherson and Lindsay Lohan & Amanda Bynes.
Not a fan of an all celebrity season but what if there is one celebrity team (who plays for charity) in a normal season.
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