Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

The influence of behavioral patterns or sleeping environment on the quality and quantity of sleep. Persons with insomnia not caused by a known disease may find that the following may assist in obtaining a good night’s sleep: establishing a routine time to go to bed; avoiding trying to sleep; using practices that assist in going…

A condition in which one requires a long period of time to become fully alert upon awakening from deep sleep. During the transition period, the affected person may become ataxic, disoriented, or aggressive. Persons whose usual awakening sequence includes sleep drunkenness should not attempt to make decisions until they are fully alert and awake.  

The consequences (e.g., fatigue, loss of concentration, or difficulties in coping or job performance) of getting less than an optimal amount of sleep. Most people feel and perform best with 6 to 8 hours of sleep each night.  

A device that allows body movements to be transferred to a machine either directly or by remote control (e.g., an apparatus for lifting, squeezing, and turning laboratory equipment containing radioactive materials). The remote “hands” are controlled by the operator from a sufficient distance, and proper shielding is used to prevent the operator from being exposed…

A tube of solid culture medium that is slanted to increase the surface area of the medium; used in culturing bacteria.  

A loss of normal skin folds and shrinkage of collagen either as a result of overly aggressive resurfacing of the skin or as a consequence of a sclerosing disorder such as progressive systemic sclerosis.  

The application of nontoxic, temporary paints or dyes to the skin to provide landmarks (as in plastic surgery), to permit accurate alignment of wound edges at the time the skin is closed, or to align the treatment beam accurately during radiotherapy.  

Tenderness elicited by the examiner’s rolling the skin and subcutaneous tissues over the upper border of the trapezius muscle. Normally, this produces minor discomfort, but in patients with non-rticular rheumatic disorders, rolling of the skin consistently produces pain.  

The abnormal fluorescence of the skin of patients with either diabetes mellitus or excessive oxidative stress when exposed to ultraviolet light. It results from the accumulation of advanced glycosylation end products (AGE) in tissues. AGE accumulation has been linked to cardiovascular diseases, impairments in glucose tolerance, and renal failure.