Tracey Marks, M.D.

While the media presents images of loving couples sleeping contentedly in each other's arms all night long, for many the reality is much different. This is especially the case for older couples. You're not alone if you sometimes wish you could have separate beds. In fact, the National Sleep Foundation...

Having just finished testifying as an expert witness in the Hemy Neuman Dunwoody Daycare murder trial, I'm reminded of how little progress we've made as a society in understanding mental illness.

Sadly, society still associates mental illnesses with a stereotyped look of someone with glazed...

Sleeping pills, like any other medication, can have unpleasant side effects. One dangerous side effect is complex sleep behaviors. These behaviors include sleep eating, sleep driving, sexomnia and sleep violence.

Ambien (zolpidem) has gotten a bad reputation for being associated with these problems, even though the risk of complex sleep...

It seems like life is getting increasingly harder as our economy continues to tank and the pressures around us continue to mount. People are feeling more stressed than in years past, especially women, according to the American Psychological Association's 2010 "Stress in America" survey.

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If on most Monday mornings you'd like to jump into a time machine and go backward in time two days, you're not alone. For many the work-week-dread kicks in Sunday afternoon as you start anticipating another five days at the office.

Where did the weekend go? You might have...

Watching too much fast-paced television isn't good for your sleep. Even worse, this can seriously impair your mental functioning during the day, regardless of your age.

A recent study in the journal Pediatrics found that four-year-old children viewing fast-paced television for nine minutes demonstrated impaired executive functioning.

What...

Summer brings flexible hours for most children who have a welcome break from school. This is the time to catch up on missed movies and video games that were neglected during the school year.

As we approach the return of the school schedule, we realize that letting our children play...

Have you noticed that some of your busiest thinking happens when you lie down at night and your head hits the pillow? Actually, it's no wonder you can get a lot of thinking done -- you finally have a moment to yourself. It's just you and your thoughts without interruption.

Are you one who rises early, but is slow to get started? Even though you may be physically awake and standing, you're not much use to anyone? You need a few hours to kick into gear and always feel like you're ten steps from diving back into bed.

The problem...