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‘Joan, darling, I am going to see you soon’: the husband was repeating this whilst asleep. Next morning his wife Pat was very angry as she had overheard this other woman’s name; a big scene followed. The husband could not think of anyone he knew called Joan, and explained that it must have been Joan Collins, as she was to be on television that night.

In fact, this is extremely rare. People who sleep-talk do not confess any secrets that they would not say whilst awake. The accuracy of these messages in sleep-talking are always in doubt. Sleep-talking can happen during both REM and NREM sleep. Some experts report that talk during REM sleep is often charged with emotion, relating to the contents of the dreams taking place. In contrast, talk during NREM sleep is deficient of any emotional content.

Normally sleep-talking consists of simple phrases or single words, such as ‘Yes, that is it’, ‘No, oh, no’, or ‘Well done’. Sleep-talking is more common in children and is normally quite harmless. There is no need for any treatment.

Before the days of sleep laboratories, it was believed that sleepwalking, night tenor, and children’s bed-wetting happened during dreaming. Nowadays, with the help of the sleep laboratories, we know mat these related phenomena occur in the deep sleep stages of NREM sleep, and are not features of dreams at all.

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During the process of evolution we have developed ways of coping with difficulties. If we feel ill we go to bed. We do this as if by instinct. The rest and warmth give our body the best chance of dealing with the trouble. If we are tense, we rest and relax and soon we begin to feel less tense. These very simple measures have evolved over countless generations. They are part of us. They are our biological heritage. And in general they are very effective. The difficulty is that with advancing civilization and sophistication we have to a large extent lost our natural heritage. We have forgotten how to relax. Watch a cat relax, or a dog, or better still a South Sea Islander, and then we realize just how much we have forgotten.

Aim for Relaxed Activity-Remember that being relaxed does not mean living like a vegetable. On the contrary, it means a greater capacity to work, to do things easily and quickly and with a minimum of effort. Relaxation is an important aspect in the training of

middle-distance and long-distance athletes, both runners and swimmers. While all the power of the body is being used, there is a feeling of relaxation of both body and mind, of rhythm, of ease of movement.

At different times I have seen a number of business executives who have complained of tension and irritability. When I have advised relaxing treatment, these men have often said that they do not want to be relaxed, or they would lose their punch, which, they said, was the key to their success as business executives. I explained to each that if he were relaxed and easy in his mind he would be able to carry out his executive duties even more effectively because his ability to be decisive would no longer be impeded by his inner tension. These men who tried the exercises now run their business empires without their former tension and irritability, without their ulcers, and with a good deal more graciousness to those around them.

The housewife can do her chores and still have energy left for other things; the student absorbs his studies more easily; the man at work tolerates his daily frustrations without fatigue and irritability.

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