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Are You an Animated Sleeper?

Heather Dale — Wed, 18 May 2011 02:33:50 PDT

One would assume that when you go to bed, your body goes into a comatose state for six to nine hours until you wake up the next morning. Right? Well, for my entire life (ever since I learned how to walk) - with at least one occurrence a week - I sit straight up, get out of my bed, walk around, sometimes go through drawers and move furniture (it's amazing how strong I am when I'm sleeping!), and then go back to bed. I never leave the house, although I've heard stories of that happening to other people. And not only do I sleepwalk, but I'm quite the sleep-talker, too! I've been told that I can speak some interesting languages while sleeping . . . fingers crossed Mandarin will come easily to me?!

Sleepwalking can be caused by many factors, including genetics, a chaotic sleep schedule, and alcohol consumption. According to WebMD, there is no foolproof way to prevent sleepwalking, although you can take certain steps like getting adequate sleep, reducing stress, and avoiding stimuli before bedtime to minimize your risks. Thankfully, it's not considered a serious disorder, and can usually be remedied with some relaxation and stress management therapies. And although startling, it is OK to wake a sleepwalker, but it's better to just calmly guide them back to bed.

In terms of sleep-talking, it can be caused by certain medications, emotional stress, a fever, a mental health disorder, or substance abuse. It is often harmless, although it may be a sign of a more serious health condition or sleep disorder.

What's your experience with either of these sleep conditions?

Wake the Sleepwalker?

FitSugar — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 08:45:00 PDT

We have all heard tales involving sleepwalking; some are spooky and some are silly. We are fascinated by stories of sleepwalking because they are so out of the ordinary, like fodder for a bizarre plot twist in a soap opera.

Although most cases of sleepwalking occur in children younger than 15, sleepwalking afflicts adults too. It has been used as a line of defense in modern murder cases.

There are many factors that can contribute to sleepwalking, like keeping a chaotic sleep schedule and alcohol consumption. Genetics also plays a role in a person's likelihood to sleepwalk, as well as stress. Stress of course can also contribute to sleep problems, and so can sleep deprivation.

To see if it is dangerous to wake a sleepwalker

The majority of us learned that waking a sleepwalker is dangerous and can cause the walker a heart attack or a psychotic break, but this is a myth. Since sleepwalking occurs during the deepest stage of sleep it may be difficult to wake the walker and they may become confused or disoriented. While it is best to lead the sleepwalker back to their bed, waking them is much less dangerous than letting them wander around in their sleep.

Do you sleepwalk? My youngest daughter does and it always freaks me out a little. Tell me about your sleepwalking incidents in the comments section below.

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For Charlize, It's Not Easy Pretending to Be Ugly

PopSugar — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:30:50 PDT

Charlize glowed in gold (with a questionable hairstyle) alongside her co-star Nick Stahl at a screening of Sleepwalking in NYC last night. In the past few years she's earned a bit of a reputation for choosing roles that hide her beauty, and her newest film fits right in with the trend. According to the actress, her character's appearances don't have any impact on how she picks her parts, saying,

"At the end of the day, it isn’t about what I physically look like - it comes back to storytelling. If I can find a good story, [that] is all that matters; I don’t judge a character on what I physically look like. I really don't care about appearance; that is so secondary to everything else that's more important in life."

Charlize has vented her frustrations about getting picked on for her movie choices more than once, but somehow it's hard to feel bad for someone who wakes up looking like that in the morning.

Lots more pics including Padma Lakshmi, Carson Kressley, and Terrence Howard, so just

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Images include: Charlize Theron, Nick Stahl, Terrence Howard, Padma Lakshmi, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Carson Kressley, Skeet Ulrich, Milena Govich, Tinsley Mortimer, Dean Winters, Salman Rushdi, Andrew Saffir

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Charlize Wears Two Hats and Sleepwalks

Molly — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 15:02:10 PST

Charlize Theron got all done up and looked gorgeous in Lanvin for the premiere of Sleepwalking in LA last night, where she walked the red carpet with Audrina Patridge and costars Nick Stahl and Dennis Hopper. It was a pretty special occasion for Charlize, because she both starred in and produced the film. She told Entertainment Tonight, "I like all aspects of this industry; I feel so fortunate to be in this industry and get to do this, and there are so many other ways of being creative other than being in front of the camera. I love acting, and I also love this, so who knows."

To see more of of Charlize, Nick Stahl, Dennis Hopper, and the rest of the cast just

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Images include: Nick Stahl, Charlize Theron, Dennis Hopper, AnnaSophia Robb, Audrina Patridge, Tito Ortiz, Jenna Jameson, Ed Westwick

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Sundance Review: Sleepwalking

BuzzSugar — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 14:30:29 PST

According to Charlize Theron at the Q&A session after the Sundance premiere screening for Sleepwalking, the movie's script really spoke to her, enough to make her want to produce and star in it. I have to wonder what, exactly, the script said to her that made it seem like a real standout project. It's not that this coming-of-age story with strains of poverty and abandonment is bad, necessarily, it's just forgettable. It didn't make me feel anything in particular except sleepy, which is perhaps appropriate, given the title.

The story follows young Tara (AnnaSophia Robb) whose unemployed, unsteady mother Joleen (Theron) suddenly disappears one day, leaving Tara in the care of her meek uncle James (Nick Stahl). Yet James soon finds that he can't care for his 12-year-old niece as well as keep a job and pay the rent, so when Tara insists they set out to find her mother, James eventually agrees. Their journey brings them to James and Joleen's father's ranch, despite the fact that this is the same gruff father (played by Dennis Hopper) who consistently berated and abused his children. Though the movie mostly seems like Tara's story, it's James who learns the most about himself and his own power, something he thought he didn't possess. To find out more of my thoughts on Sleepwalking,

The story itself is fine enough. It's sweet to see the relationship between Tara and James develop into something meaningful, and to see Tara find moments of childish joy despite her difficult home life. There's one scene in particular that is beautifully done: Tara, wearing roller skates, lounges by a motel pool while two pre-pubescent boys stare at her. Enjoying the attention, she makes a big show of lighting a cigarette, then roller skating around the pool before dramatically diving in. The mixture of youthfulness (roller skates), adult behavior (smoking) and newfound sexuality (performing for staring boys) is both truthful and disconcerting.

My main beef with the movie is a filming technique that first-time director Bill Maher constantly employs: the gradual close-up. Maybe Maher thought it would make us care more about the movie if we got closer to things very, very slowly in every scene, but it doesn't work. At some point, it becomes fiercely annoying.

Then again, there's nothing so annoying about the film that we hate it - and there's nothing really interesting about the film that makes us like it. If this movie spoke to me at all, I had no other response besides a silent shrug.

Bottom line: Middle-of-the-road drama by a new director who managed to work with Charlize Theron. It wasn't the worst of this year's Sundance options, but was far from the best.

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Charlize and Stuart Sleepwalk With Sundance Smiles

Molly — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 07:41:50 PST

Charlize Theron walked the red carpet as both star and producer of her new movie Sleepwalking at Sundance yesterday with Stuart on her arm. Unfortunately, Buzz, who was there for the screening, didn't have a rave review for the piece...but of course Charlize looked stunning for the event. Leave it to her to make bundling up for freezing weather look sunny and glamorous. Apparently things got a little awkward and silent at the post-show Q&A, but at least it meant she didn't put her foot in her mouth geography-wise like she did over the weekend. Oops.

To see more from the premiere including Nick Stahl, Dennis Hopper, Charlize, Stuart and others just

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Images include: AnnaSophia Robb, Nick Stahl, Charlize Theron, Stuart Townsend, Dennis Hopper

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Live From Sundance, Part III

BuzzSugar — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 05:30:51 PST

Yesterday I proved to myself that I really could spend an entire day watching movies and not get tired of it. In fact, it started to work like a drug - the more films I took in, the more I wanted to watch. So, maybe it's a good thing that I leave Park City today! Check out my third collection of thoughts on this year's Sundance Film Festival:

Watching four movies in a row on Tuesday, I really got to see the good (The Last Word), the bad (Sleepwalking) and the very, very ugly (Death in Love) - along with the kinda pretty good (The Deal). More to come on all of these soon, but just know that I haven't ever wanted to walk out of a movie so much as I wanted to leave Death in Love. On a brighter note, I got to see The Last Word starring Wes Bentley, Winona Ryder, and Ray Romano, which will likely prove one of the success stories from this year's festival.
Saw Charlize Theron at the premiere of Sleepwalking, and she is a beautiful giantess. She gave a few speeches about the film (which she produced and stars in) and she seemed so down-to-earth, I almost felt badly for disliking her movie so much.

More thoughts if you

I'm seeing some trends here at Sundance this year. Lots of movies that deal with suicide, several with themes surrounding messed up super-violent sex, lots of comedy derived from insider-y jokes about Hollywood/"the industry," and while I haven't seen a ton of great adult female characters, there are several outstanding performances by younger girls this year (AnnaSophia Robb, Elle Fanning, and Morgan Lily come to mind).
Saw Meg Ryan at the premiere of The Deal and she seems to be a gracious person, especially when crazy fans accost her and literally won't let go of her twiggy arm until she's taken 20 photos with them. Sheesh! People are nuts. I really mean the twiggy part, too - she looks worrisomely slim.
Had my favorite meal so far this trip: the delicious huevos rancheros at the Eating Establishment this morning. I highly recommend!
Next time I'm asked to go dancing or to a club and I'm not feeling it, I'm going to borrow Evan's (Wes Bentley's) line from The Last Word: "Nah, I'm not particularly funky."

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Link Time - Married Life After an Affair

Annie Scudder — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:05:55 PDT

How to stay married after an affair - HuffPost Wedding
7 essentials for the ultimate girls' night in - CollegeCandy
12 Facebook friends who are fun to stalk - The Frisky
Jennifer Love Hewitt gets vajazzled for special occasions - YourTango
Tyra Banks's open letter to models - The Daily Beast
The top OMG moments from Gossip Girl's season finale - BuzzSugar
31 percent of people lie to their partners about their finances - The Jane Dough
There's a one in three chance you sleepwalk - Newser
Weird sex in Snooki's new book - Yahoo! Shine
Questionable celebrity portraits - theBERRY
Why weddings can be hard for single people - Betty Confidential

5 Reasons You Need More Sleep

Shape — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 04:14:00 PST

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Shape here on FitSugar.

Whether you admit you need help nodding off or are still in denial about the major suitcases under your eyes, chances are you could use an intervention: a full two-thirds of Americans say they have trouble getting enough shut-eye at least once a week. That’s pretty harrowing, considering that sleep is absolutely essential for health and normal functioning. If you need a reason to hit the sack early read on. You’ll be surprised how much skipped sleep impacts your well-being.

You'll Live Longer
Chronic insomniacs are more likely to suffer a heart attack than those who sleep well, according to new research in the journal Circulation. Other studies have linked lack of sleep to a higher risk of dying from a stroke and developing breast cancer.

See even more benefits of sleep after the break!

In the Near Future, Price of Food Will Drastically Increase

Katie Sweeney — Tue, 31 May 2011 10:42:51 PDT

Food prices have been on the rise for some time now, but an upcoming study to be published Wednesday warns that they will increase even more. According to Oxfam, the price of food, mainly staples like corn, will double by 2030. A number of factors - the depletion of natural resources, climate change, growing global population, etc. - have caused more poverty in the world and the poorest people, who already spend the majority of their income on food, will be the first to suffer.

To solve the situation, Oxfam is recommending a complete overhaul of the world's food system. The chief executive said, "We are sleepwalking towards an age of avoidable crisis. One in seven people on the planet go hungry every day despite the fact that the world is capable of feeding everyone. The food system must be overhauled." It's easy to call for action, but the change that is necessary will probably not come quick enough. Are you concerned about a global food crisis?