Not All Fairytales Have a Happy Ending: Sleeping Beauty Syndrome

In my paper, I will tackle insomnia from various perspectives: definitions, types, causes, effects, and means of solutions.

“Why do we sleep?” is a very popular questions that many humans ask today. Sleep is very sufficient to the human body. If it was not important, then God would not have designed for a third of our life to be occupied by sleep. During this time period, many people are interested to know what is a good amount of sleep and what are the harmful effects to not getting enough sleep.

Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty are only some that can come to mind when thinking of characters who only do good in the stories they are in. Many classic protagonists are portrayed as the embodiment of pure good. They always do the right thing and are successful in the end. The exceptions to this archetype can always produce great stories with developed characters that interest readers. It is a universal fact that no one in stories is perfect, but authors can make a bold choice when they decide to have the main character less perfect, or even villainous. When flaws are present in a protagonist, readers are drawn to the story, given a new point of view, bringing new concepts and ideas to the audience that they may not have thought of before.

I’ve been thinking about sleep ever since reading Maria Konnikova’s fascinating, three-part series for The New Yorker on sleep. And then my wife, Crystal, read the series, which got us both thinking about it, and talking about it, and experimenting with it.

Thesis: Sleep plays an essential part in a person’s health and well-being; the way we feel while awake is dependent upon what happens to your body while asleep.

Sleep is a beneficial necessity, both from a scientific and psychological standpoint, improving both mental and physical health. It plays an essential role in our growth and development as human beings. During sleep, our brains are growing and preparing for the day ahead so that we may be productive and attentive in every daily task. Without the recommended minimum of eight hours of sleep each night, people get agitated, distracted easily, gain health problems, make bad decisions, and acquire feelings of sadness and depression. Sleep deprivation is harmful and can cause a large amount of irreversible damage to ones brain, increasing the risk of diseases, strokes, and even diabetes. Throughout history, many authors have written about characters

When thinking of fairy tales, the first thing that comes to mind is not rape, consent, or sex. However, most fairy tales contain some aspect that alludes to sex or sexual activities, especially the fairy tales that are not targeting children. It is important to note the definition of rape because although there is one set meaning behind the term rape, rape is different depending on the person asked. A perfect example of a fairy tale in which rape is prevalent is Sleeping Beauty. While not all Sleeping Beauty stories contain a rape, a significant amount of the popular versions do, which is why it is important to highlight it. These variants include, “Sun, Moon, and Talia” by Giambattista Basile and “Briar Rose”

I did not sleep well as a child. When I closed my eyes, I was not inundated with calming thoughts, nor fantastical images, but rather assaulted by existential anxieties which coaxed me into undesired ruminations about my being. I believed falling asleep was tantamount to relinquishing control over my ephemeral existence, as there was no guarantee of awakening. I found myself clinging to the present to the detriment of the future, desperately eschewing its hastened arrival for fear that it would not include me in its progression. And yet, every night, hour by hour, I would find myself succumbing to the physical and mental manifestations of sleep deprivation. I would come to plead for the very loss of control that I so viscerally feared, as

Sleep provides a sanctuary [BS]. Sleep provides peace of mind. Sleep provides sanity [Parallel]. Sleeping allows the mind a chance to rest and creates a bliss that one can only experience while he rests. Although important, sleep negatively provides the chance for nightmares to creep into the resting mind [Periodic]. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the murderers Macbeth and Lady Macbeth begin to lose sleep. Unable to bear the pain of both conscious fear and terror of the night, the couple slowly edges towards insanity [Periodic]. Shakespeare uses his play Macbeth to show that sleep for the guilty minded and fearful is torture.

The average human spends about 25 years of their life sleeping. That is equal to one-third of a person’s life. So if sleep is vital and common among every single human, what do you know about it? What happens when we sleep (Attention Grabber)? Before the 1950s, scientists believed that the brain would just “shut off” when we would go to sleep. It wasn’t until the discovery of the Rapid Eye Movement (REM) state that scientists really looked into what happens in the brain while we are asleep. Studies have found that we go through a cycle of stages during sleep, and it is important for our health (Orientation to Topic). Today, I am going to inform you about what really happens when we sleep, and some issues that are found among it (Specific Purpose). In order to really understand this worldwide commonality, you need to know some background on sleep, the stages in the cycle, and some common disorders (Central Idea). I have taken a year long psychology course that went into depth on sleep psychology, and I have done extensive research on the topic to better grasp it (Statement of Credibility). I want to inform you on sleep so you can understand what happens when you close your eyes every night, and so you can detect any irregularities in your sleep pattern (Statement of Goodwill). First, I will give a background of why and how we know to sleep, then I will explain the stages in the sleep cycle, and finally I will tell you about some common disorders (Preview).

Fairy Tales are a piece of actual reality, human nature and moral dilemmas we all have to face at one time or another. But, sometimes, it isn 't as simple as “good vs. evil” as we would like to think it is. In the story of Cinderella we are presented with the theme of good vs. evil in a very straight forward way. Good and virtue is rewarded, while evil and injustices are punished and therefore good always triumphs over evil. In the story of Cinderella, we are presented with a beautiful young girl who is abused and ridiculed by her step-mother and step-sisters. The ‘Evil’ Stepmother despises Cinderella 's goodness, as it highlights her and her daughter’s weaknesses. Throughout history we have been presented with these simple characters, but as our understanding of human nature grows we find more developed characters that

Bruno Bettelheim is an educator and therapist who wrote the “Struggle for Meaning”. In Bettelheim’s paper he discusses how children grow throw their experiences that their childhood literature brings them. Some of the main points are a child’s psychological problems, finding a deeper meaning to life, and keeping a reader entrained. Bettelheim’s points can be seen in Brothers Grimm’s “Cinderella”.

Many disorders and diseases can result from abnormal sleeping patterns that are triggered from sleep deprivation. The most common forms of sleep disorders include insomnia, sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, and narcolepsy (NINDS 10). All of these sleep disorders begin from sleep deprivation and can be managed once they are diagnosed correctly. According to Urban, “Nervousness, dizziness, and sleeplessness may occur”, as a result of sleep deprivation (1). This proves that the slightest health changes can occur if sleep deprivation becomes a problem. According to NINDS, “The disorders and the resulting sleep deprivation interfere with work, driving, and social activities” (10). This shows that the effects of being sleep deprived can drastically change one’s everyday

Each night without fail our eyes grow heavy and our minds tired, and dreaming we drag ourselves to bed and normally fall asleep quickly and peacefully off to dream land we go.

Fairy tales have been embedded into our culture and date back before recorded times, they provide a source of entertainment and imagination for children. Despite today’s fairy tales having positive moral intentions they have been adapted from earlier versions which often can be very different and much more sinister. The fairy tale “Sun, Moon, and Talia” by Giambattista Basile formed the basis for the more commonly known Disney interpretation called the “Sleeping Beauty” however they are vastly different, Basile’s original is a very dark and twisted story compared to the Disney version.