Reba McEntire knows what it’s like to go through tough times. In 1991, something really sad happened to her. While she was performing at a big event in San Diego, a plane crash happened after the show. Her tour manager and seven band members, who were like family to her, died in the crash.
The crash happened on March 16, 1991, right after Reba and her band gave an amazing performance.
After the show, some of the band members were supposed to fly to Fort Wayne, Indiana, for the next concert. Reba, her husband Narvel Blackstock, and her stylist Sandi Spika stayed in San Diego for the night. They didn’t get on the plane that crashed.
In 2012, Reba McEntire talked about what happened in a sad interview with Oprah Winfrey. The second plane that took off safely reached its destination.
But sadly, the first plane crashed only ten miles away from the airport. This crash changed the lives of the people left behind forever.
Reba told Oprah that the first plane crashed into a boulder on the edge of Otay Mountain, and everyone on board died. When they heard the news, Reba’s husband Narvel talked to their pilot.
Narvel came back to the hotel room late at night, around two or three in the morning, where Reba was waiting. The tragedy made the atmosphere heavy. Narvel told Reba that one of the planes crashed.
Reba asked about their friends, hoping they were okay. But Narvel’s answer made her lose hope. He said, “I don’t think so,” which made them both feel unsure.
Reba and Narvel wanted to know all the details about what happened to their loved ones. Reba’s voice shook with real sadness as she talked about how Narvel looked for answers on the phone. She said, “It’s been 20 years, but the sadness never really goes away.” Reba remembered how Narvel paced around, feeling really sad.
Reba found comfort in her close friends, like Vince Gill and Dolly Parton. After the tragedy, they offered to help finish the tour, but Reba said no.
Instead, she focused on healing herself. She poured her heart into her next album, “For My Broken Heart.” It was a way to remember her lost friends and show her love for them.
The album did really well. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and sold four million copies.
Every year, Reba McEntire remembers the people who died in a sad incident. She uses social media to keep their memory alive. In 2014, she made a special post on Instagram to remember the anniversary of the crash.
Then, in 2016, on the 25th anniversary of the tragedy, Reba went to San Diego, a place that was important to her because of what happened. She shared this important journey on social media with her fans, so they could see how she was doing.
Reba wrote a heartfelt message herself. She said, “Today is the 25th anniversary of the plane crash. I went back to San Diego in November and took a helicopter to the crash site. I felt like the people who died knew how much we miss them. I send my condolences and prayers to all the families and friends affected by this tragedy.”
Science Shows That Women Sleep Better Next To Dogs Than Men
It’s a no-brainer that sleep is vital for one’s health. That is why so many researchers study the best way to get good quality shut-eye. However, forget chamomile tea and meditating before bed. According to new research, women sleep better next to dogs. That’s right; Canisius College in New York State conducted a study that found that canines make better-sleeping partners than humans or cats.
“We found that women commonly rate dogs as better bed partners than cats and human partners and report that their dogs enhance their sleep quality,” Christy Hoffman, Ph.D., animal behaviorist and lead researcher of the study.
Research Finds that Women Sleep Better Next to Dogs
Hoffman surveyed almost one thousand women living in the United States to come to these findings. The results showed that 55% of the participants shared their bed with at least one dog and 31% with at least one cat. Also, 57% of these women shared a bed with a human partner, while the rest did not. [1]
Hoffman also discovered why dogs seemed to make the best bed companions. The first reason is that dogs’ sleeping patterns, as opposed to cats, more closely resemble those of humans.
“The difference between dogs and cats is not surprising because dogs’ major sleep periods tend to coincide more closely with humans’ than do cats,’” said Hoffman.
However, while there may be benefits of these similar sleeping patterns, more research is needed to know for certain. But Hoffman has some ideas of how this could work.
“In comparison to human bed partners, dogs may be better at accommodating their human’s sleep schedule,” she said. “It’s not uncommon for human bed partners to go to bed at very different times and wake up at very different times. Such differences in partners’ schedules can certainly disrupt sleep. It may be that dog bed partners adapt more readily to their owner’s schedule than do human bed partners.”
Moreover, dogs require certain schedules and responsibilities, such as a morning walk. This kind of regime helps their owners maintain a routine, improving sleep quality as a result.
Stillness and Security
Additionally, dogs tend to stay stiff as they sleep. Anyone who’s slept with a fidgety partner knows how disruptive they could be. However, women in the study reported that their dogs stayed on the bed most of the night instead of felines, who tended to come and go.
“This suggests that cats may be more likely than dogs to create disruptions by moving on and off the bed during the night. In addition, we found that dog owners kept to more consistent bedtime and wake time schedules than cat owners and also tended to go to bed earlier and wake up earlier than cat owners,” Hoffman said.
Here’s the third and most important reason: Canines provide a sense of security to their owners. More so than with cats or even human partners.
“Some dog owners may take comfort in the thought that their dog will alert them in the case of an intruder or other type of emergency; furthermore, a dog’s bark may deter a potential intruder. A cat is less likely to take on this role, and so, may not provide psychological comfort in the same way a dog might,” said Hoffman.
The Best Partner for Quality Sleep
However, while the study suggests that dogs are the perfect slumber buddies, their benefits are subjective to each case. For example, a dog could snore or make the bed too hot. Additionally, there are many owners who find that their cats help them sleep.
Keep in mind that the research was based on how the volunteers perceive their pets’ effects on their sleeping quality and duration. As a result, more objective research is needed to definitively consider dogs the superior sleeping partners. However, Hoffman believes that these studies could be beneficial as many American households have pets.
“It will be valuable to continue this line of research so we can develop a clearer picture of the contexts under which pets and their presence in their owner’s bed may positively impact sleep quality, and the contexts under which co-sleeping with a pet may be detrimental to one’s sleep quality,” she said.
For instance, research has also shown that women sleep better while alone than with a human, but many believe in the opposite. Future research could use Fitbit-like devices to objectively track the sleep quality of people in different sleeping conditions.
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