Insonnia...brutto nemico

Negli ultimi decenni molti fattori han fatto sì che i disturbi legati al sonno, e al sistema nervoso centrale più in generale, sono diventati molto presenti nella popolazione più, cosiddetta, economicamente avanzata.

Ora per vicende mie e per i miei studi, l'argomento mi è piuttosto familiare e quindi mi sembra di consigliare qualcosa, con l'assoluta consapevolezza di non essere un'esperta e men che meno un medico.

Detto questo per prima cosa, essenziale alla salute "della testa", sono convinta, rimane quella del corpo. Insomma "mens sana in corpore sano".  Quindi, regola d'oro n. 1 se c'è il tempo e la possibilità ritagliatevi dei momenti per fare un qualche tipo di attività fisica, in maniera costante durante la settimana. Sarebbe meglio non fosse la sera se si hanno già problemi di sonno abbastanza consistenti, perchè sì le endorfine liberate fanno bene e il fisico ne ha giovamento, però l'effetto "collaterale" è l'attivazione del sistema nervoso centrale, quindi una maggiore reattività generale.

Secondo prezioso consiglio: trattatevi bene. Ossia cercate di essere abbastanza regolari con gli orari e l'alimentazione dovrebbe essere quanto più equilibrata evitando ad esempio troppi carboidrati e pasti eccessivi la sera (eccetera eccetera eccetera). Inoltre date tempo a voi stessi, a quello che vi da tranquillità.

Comunque immaginatevi come un catino che per gli stress della vita quotidiana, stanchezza e chi vuole aggiunga, pian piano si riempe. A volte può strabordare e allora diventa faticoso svuotarlo a livelli accettabili e le conseguenze dell'inondazione potrebbero non essere banali. Il trucco è ovviamente mantenere il livello d'acqua basso e costante e gli strumenti più immediati sono quelli appena citati.

Le endorfine sono un gruppo di sostanze prodotte dal cervello nel lobo anteriore dell'Ipofisi, classificabili come neurotrasmettitori, dotate di proprietà analgesiche e fisiologiche simili a quelle della morfina e dell'oppio, ma con portata più ampia.

Sezione "rimedi della nonna":

senza ricorrere all'artiglieria pesante, per così dire, ci sono molti prodotti a disposizione che possono migliorare la qualità e la quantità del sonno. Si parte dalla classica camomilla (attenzione a non lasciare troppo in infusione altrimenti si rischia l'effetto opposto) usando il fiore intero, prima di andare a dormire, alle tisane miste di melissa, passiflora e altre piante di uso comune e riconosciuto soprattutto nell'area austriaca e tedesca, ai preparati di libera vendita a base di valeriana, ai preparati combinati di melatonina/triptofano/vitamine del gruppo B, per giungere alle tecniche di training autogeno/rilassamento/yoga&Co. . Di parte di questi rimedi è anche riconosciuta scientificamente l'efficacia ma è ovvio che a determinato problema ci sarà adeguato strumento. Se il problema dovesse uscire dal vostro controllo, rivolgetevi a qualcuno di certamente competente e di cui potete in qualche modo fidarvi. La cosa importante è non lasciare che si instauri alcun circolo vizioso che allarghi, cerchio per cerchio, il problema. Il nostro corpo non finirà mai di stupirmi, in primis porprio questa strana noce (passatemi il termine) che è il cervello.

Sorprendente come possiamo essere delle macchine, geni, grandi e fini menti ma come al tempo stesso possiamo essere fragili e delicati!

IRELAND: V E FINAL CHAPTER

Day 12, August 19th
After a second night in Dundalk we went to Mellifont Abbey (http://www.mellifontabbey.ie/ this is the website of the monks themselves, they still are in the area, but in another building). It was the first Cistercian abbey to be built in Ireland in 1142 on the orders of Saint Malachy, Archbishop of Armagh, Mellifont Abbey sits on the banks of the River Mattock, some ten km (6 miles) north-west of Drogheda.
By 1170, Mellifont had one hundred monks and three hundred lay brothers. The Abbey became the model for other Cistercian abbeys built in Ireland, with its formal style of architecture imported from the abbeys of the same order in France; it was the main abbey in Ireland until it was closed in 1539, when it became a fortified house. In 1603 the Treaty of Mellifont was agreed between the English Crown and Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone in the abbey grounds.
William of Orange used Mellifont Abbey House as his headquarters during the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.
Mellifont Abbey is now a ruin. Little of the original Abbey remains, save a 13th-century lavabo (where the monks washed their hands before eating), some Romanesque arches and a 14th-century chapter house.
New Mellifont Abbey is home to the Cistercian Order in County Louth and is located in Collon, a small village and townland in the south west corner of County Louth, Ireland on the N2 national primary road.
Nice little place!

After that, we turned in Dublin direction, airport, to unwillingly get the car back at the rental place. Taxi to the apartment, our home for the last days in Ireland, near the Guinness storehouse. Got SO nasueated by the toasting smell!I didn't think I could be...

The remaing part of the day we obviously dedicated to the Storehouse itself, really cool and interesting!
Dinner at home with...Dr.Oekter pizza :P and after that we went to a hotel were they had songs and irish ballet going on.

Trinity college

Day 13, August 20th

Journey trought ages.
From the Dubh Linn gardens. A park not many people know about - hidden behind Dublin Castle, doubling as a helicopter landing site and rarely visited by tourists. But popular with the lunchtime crowd from the surrounding offices. The tower is the only visible (from outside) part of the medioeval castle.

We booked online the night before, the free walking tour of Dublin with Sandemans. Eleanore guided us fisrtly in the city hall explaining the early history all the way to recent facts, then to the castle, Temple Bar where we had time to have a quick snack. After that O'Connell street, facts about Joyce, and the end at Stephen's Green, a public garden where there also a few  references to the Famine. In fact, it was almost paradoxical thinking that a few of us visiting wouldn't be there if it weren't for the famine and all the tragedy of it.

St. Stephen's Green

Part of the goup went on with Elelanor to have lunch, we rested a while in the park then we had a walk in the shopping lane to buy souvenirs and cards and meet...Molly Malone :)

Molly Malone

Home to rest a bit and then last night of craic out first at the Brazen Head (http://www.brazenhead.com/) oldest pub of Dublin and the to get a more "regular" session at the Cobblestone.
Sweet dreams

Day 14, August 21st
Visited St. Audeon and Christ Church whic is the cathedral of the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough and the cathedral of the Ecclesiastical province of the United Provinces of Dublin and Cashel in the Church of Ireland. Founded probably sometime after 1028 when King Sitric Silkenbeard, the Hiberno-Norse king of Dublin made a pilgrimage to Rome.
In the 1180s, Strongbow and other Norman magnates helped to fund a complete rebuilding of Christ Church, initially a wooden building, in stone, comprising the construction of a choir, choir aisles and transepts, the crypt and chapels to St. Edmund and St. Mary and St. Lô.
The cathedral was the location of the purported coronation, in 1487, of Lambert Simnel, a boy pretender who sought unsuccessfully to depose Henry VII of England, as "King Edward VI".
In 1493, the choir school was founded. In 1539, King Henry VIII converted the priory to a cathedral with a dean and chapter and worked to ensure Christ Church adhered to his new church structure. His immediate successor, Edward VI of England, in 1547, provided funds for an increase in cathedral staffing and annual royal funding for the choir school.
The cathedral was extensively renovated and rebuilt from 1871 to 1878 by George Edmund Street, with the sponsorship of distiller Henry Roe of Mount Anville.


Christ Church also contains the largest cathedral crypt (63.4m long) in Britain or Ireland, constructed in 1172-1173. Having been renovated in the early 2000s, it is now open for visitors.
The crypt contains various monuments and historical features, including:
- the oldest known secular carvings in Ireland, two carved statues that until the late 18th century stood outside the Tholsel (Dublin's medieval city hall, which was demolished in 1806)
- a tabernacle and set of candlesticks which were used when the cathedral last operated (for a very short time) under the "Roman rite", when the Roman Catholic king, James II, having fled England in 1690, came to Ireland to fight for his throne and attended High Mass in the temporary restoration of Christ Church as a Roman Catholic cathedral.
- the stocks, formerly in Christ Church Place, made in 1670 and used for the punishment of offenders before the Court of the Dean's Liberty (the small area under the cathedral's exclusive civic authority), moved here in 1870
- historic books and altar goods of the Cathedral
- "The Cat & The Rat" are displayed with an explanatory note (and I will leave it as a surprise ;) )

Costumes from the TV series "The Tudors"

Then we walked to St.Patrick cathedral, ate in the adjacent park a delicious toast and the rain caught us for the last time and the first and last thunder announcing it.
We visited the castle (http://www.dublincastle.ie/) to stay dry and by the time we were done the sun would have shined again =)

St. Patrick's cathedral and storm coming

 The building actually is not very "castlely", it's more a palace. It was until 1922 the seat of British rule in Ireland, and is now a major Irish government complex. Most of it dates from the 18th century, though a castle has stood on the site since the days of King John, the first Lord of Ireland. The Castle served as the seat of English, then later British government of Ireland under the Lordship of Ireland (1171–1541), the Kingdom of Ireland (1541–1800), and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1800–1922). Upon establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922, the complex was ceremonially handed over to the newly formed Provisional Government led by Michael Collins.

Originally built as a defensive fortification for the Norman city of Dublin, it later evolved into a royal residence, resided in by the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland or Viceroy of Ireland, the representative of the monarch. The second in command in the Dublin Castle administration, the Chief Secretary for Ireland, also had his offices there. Over the years parliament and law courts met at the castle before moving to new purpose-built venues. It also served as a military garrison. Upon formation of the Free State in 1922, the castle assumed for a decade the role of the Four Courts on the Liffey quays which had been badly damaged during the Civil War.
It was decided in 1938 that the inauguration of the first President of Ireland, Douglas Hyde would take place in the castle, and the complex has been host to this ceremony ever since. The castle is also used for hosting official State visits as well as more informal foreign affairs engagements, State banquets, and Government policy launches, as well as acting as the central base for Ireland's hosting of the European Presidency approximately every 10 years.

;)

Here you have a map of Dublin:

Last night in Ireland, last absurd pizza and after few hours we were up 3.30 a.m. to take the same taxi we got arriving in Dublin, and on the plane with full eyes, mind and heart!
I hope you got at least a tenth of what was this great holiday to us!

Ireland: chapter IV

Day 9, August 16th

Here and there in Connemara and the Sky road.

Starting from Galway we had an idea of Connemara. First we stopped in Coral Beach, what an amazing place. The sand was made by these little pieces of corals: white, red, orange. Sun was shining, only thing that kept us off the water was the really really strong wind!

 Then on the famous Sky Road, I suggest bike tours over there. Final visit of the day was at Kylemore Abbey and gardens (http://www.kylemoreabbey.com/).

The mountainous valley around Kylemore is an area of old oakwoods which terrace the mountainside. As the story, and wikepedia, goes: Kylemore Castle was built as a private home for the family of Mitchell Henry, a wealthy doctor from London, whose family was in textile manufacturing from Manchester, England. He moved to Ireland, when he and his wife, Margaret, purchased the land around the Abbey and became a politician, and was also an MP for County Galway from 1871 to 1885. The castle was designed by James Franklin Fuller and Ussher Roberts. Construction first began in 1867, and took one hundred men four years to complete. The castle covered approximately 40,000 square feet (3,700 m2) with over 70 rooms and the principal wall was two to three feet thick. The facade measured 142 feet (43 m) in length and is made of granite brought from Dalkey by sea to Letterfrack and limestone from Ballinasloe. There were 33 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, 4 sitting rooms, ballroom, billiard room, library, study, school room, smoking room, gun room and various offices and domestic staff residences for the butler, cook, housekeeper and other servants. Several other building including a Gothic cathedral and family mausoleum containing the bodies of Margaret Henry, Mitchell Henry and a great grand nephew.
The Abbey remained in Henry's estate after he returned to England, and the castle was sold to the Duke and Duchess of Manchester in 1909, they resided there several years, before being forced to sell the house and grounds due to gambling debts. In 1920 the Irish Benedictine Nuns purchased the Abbey castle and lands after they were forced to flee Ypres, Belgium during World War I. Previously the nuns, who had been based in Ypres for several hundred years, had been bombed out of their Abbey during World War I. The nuns continued to offer education to Catholic girls, and opened an international boarding school and established a day school for local girls. They were forced to close the school in June 2010.
The Estate includes large walled Victorian Gardens, which have been open since the 70s, to public tours and 'nature' walks. The Benedictine community have restored the Abbey's gardens and Cathedral with donations and local artisans, in order to be a self-sustaining estate.

 Driving back in Galway enormous black clouds came in and just a moment befor the rain became to fall down heavily we had the luck to get a famous double raimbow from Connemara, huge and complete : D
Second night in Galway.

Day 10, August 17th

At  Clonmacnoise

Leaving Galway for Culain Mhic Nois - Clonmacnoise: founded sometime between 545 and 548 by Ciarán Mac a tSaor, a young man from Rathcroghan, Co. Roscommon. Until the 9th century it had close associations with the kings of Connacht. The strategic location of the monastery helped it become a major centre of religion, learning, craftsmanship and trade by the 9th century and together with Clonard it was the most famous in Ireland, visited by scholars from all over Europe. From the ninth until the eleventh century it was allied with the kings of Meath. Many of the high kings of Tara and Connacht were buried here.

 Next was Newgrange. A prehistoric monument located in County Meath, on the eastern side of Ireland, about one kilometre north of the River Boyne. It was built around 3200 BC, during the Neolithic period. There is no agreement about what the site was used for, but it has been speculated that it had some form of religious significance because it is aligned with the rising sun, which floods the stone room with light on the winter solstice. Which should be such spectacular to watch! Thing taht made me shiver: you walk in the hill and in the middle room the stones are the same, never been touched by anyone but the men that worked to build it up!wow...

Last stop of the day was Monasterboice, in the cemetery and around the Church there is a roundtower and three Crosses of the most important founded in Ireland. Nobody was around but if you're passing by I would definitively suggest a quick visit.

Then we landed in Dundalk in a verly lovely B&b, little note: under the heavier rain we got during the two weeks. Dinner in a pub with great music aired on the radio (a change, nobody playing live!) then bed time!

Day 11, August 18th

Drove to Belfast and did a tour of the murals, with a guy explaing you while getting on and off the taxi (http://www.belfastmuraltours.com/ or http://www.belfastcitytours.com/ or you can find many others and decide once you're there). Well I think it was one of the most interesting thing we did. It was really strange to pass from a modern city centre to something totally different, two SIDES of the same city, "peace" walls between them. Really made me think how good ideas andideals may become ideologism (I hope that you can understand what I'm trying to say, pretty difficult to explain in a foreign language) in time.

Lunch and then walked around the city, to the port and to the mall where we left the car. Pretty much bought an entire soda machine to use all the English money we had :P
Dined in a place in the centre of Dundalk after Mass.

Ireland: chapter III

A good sleep and again on the road after two (uoo) days in the same place. First stop of the day was in Adare, famous fot the cottages but also for the Augustinian friary. The Earl of Kildare founded it, we're talking of County Limerick in 1315. It was known as the Black Abbey due to the colour of the friars’ habit. Religious activities continued for about 200 years, until the community was suppressed in the mid-16th century. Today, visitors can view the well-preserved cloisters as well as the church, in use by the Church of Ireland since 1807. Also not to be missed are the Quin and Dunraven families’ mausoleums.

  

Then the road brought us to the cliffs of Moher. Well if you ask me a little too crowded but definitively worth the ride! What a place, even with my mum screamin "off the edgeeee!"

An Angelito (see photo below) with chocolate stick going a little back to Lahinch where my sis, bro and I dived into the ocean (God, it was cold!!) playing with the waves.

The Angelito

Then we headed to Doolin where we where to stay for the night. What a place this little place of Clare! :)

Dinner at McDermott's Pub and "tourist" session by local musicians. Met again an italian guy we first met in Kilkenny, on a trip with his motorcycle!

 Day 7, august 14th
Aran islands day! i have to say it was like a dream come true for me. It's a few years I'm saying -I want to go there sooo badly- And it couldn't be possibly better. We left under a raimbow and clouds and landed on the main island (Inishmore) with a bright and warm sun!
Hired a bike (it's the best way to visit the island, you can cycle it all and reach places on foot) and then to Dún Aonghasa (Dún Aengus),  the most famous of several prehistoric forts on the Aran Islands of County Galway, Ireland. At the edge of an 100 metre high cliff.
A popular tourist attraction, Dún Aonghasa is an important archaeological site that also offers a spectacular view. It is not known when Dún Aonghasa was built, though it is now thought to date from the Iron Age. It was surmised that it was built in the 2nd century BC by the Builg following the Laginian conquest of Connacht.
Dún Aonghasa has been called "the most magnificent barbaric monument in Europe." Its name, meaning "Fort of Aonghas", refers to the pre-Christian god of the same name described in Irish mythology, or the mythical king, Aonghus mac Úmhór.
It was just the perfect day, pics says it better ;)
Ferry back and trought the Burren to arrive on Galway, in the best apartment we got during the holiday! Pasta with smoked salmon at "home" :)

Day 8, August 15th

Medioeval Galway

Galway visit with the walking tour guide. This is a nice thing to do all over Europe in the most important city. There are these groups gathering and starting the tour at a certain time, you go around the city to see the musts and you also get to know other travellers. Then you pay your guide in a "tip" form of payment, for what you think it was worth! We did it in Galway and also in Dublin, two different companies.

Under an occasionally (intense!) shower we visited the city and then ate at the Mc Donagh's Fish & Chips (so good!) and then we had a walk by ourselves and went to Mass for the The Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Ice cream (italian!) and then at the King's Head, famous pub in the centre, for some good music and dancing!

port with Spanish Arch on the left