Sleep and Snoring "My desire to wake up rested."

I found this article in my archives.  

"My desire to wake up rested." Lately, many close friends are reporting how little sleep they get. Most of them do not understand that prolonged sleep deprivation leads to major health problems. This is for them...and you..STRESS LEVEL ELIMINATION EXERCISE PLAN (SLEEP)  Sleep deprivation plays havoc with important hormones and may cause damage to brain cells. It affects the immune system and invites the growth of fat instead of muscle.

     Cheating on sleep even for a few nights increases brain levels of cortisol, a potentially dangerous stress hormone. Lack of sleep dulls the brain, saps energy, increases irritability and depression. It makes people more accident-prone at home, at work and on the highway. You can offset this a little by being in great physical shape but many abuse this with overstraining and I believe it impairs their judgment. Dr. Robert Greene, Harvard Medical School neuroscientist stated that: “If sleep is needed for brain function to be working in an optimal way, you are losing that”.

     A National Sleep Foundation survey found that nearly two out of three Americans did not get their recommended eight hours of sleep a night. Thirty percent of those get less than six hours of sleep. For most, eight hours of sleep is adequate, although some function well on six hours, even four; others need ten. Many have forgotten what a good night’s sleep feels like.

     According to the Institute for Sleep Medicine, the most common sleep related problems are snoring, sleep apnea, excessive daytime sleeplessness, involuntary napping, restless legs during sleep, shift work, jet lag, insomnia and sleep walking. Interventions for the above include sleep medicine, neurology (for brain disorders), lung disorders, surgical treatments, mouth breathing aids, mechanical breathing machines( CPAP etc), psychology, psychiatry, dentistry, speech therapy and pediatrics.

     An estimated 100,000 highway crashes annually are blamed on sleepy drivers. My Breathing Exercise #2, also called the Tibetan Caffeine [PRODUCT 130], can increase mental clarity, increase energy and improve focus, all of which is potentially life saving. It is not recommended that you use it and drive, but I have done so with great success.

     Sleep loss causes the stress hormone cortisol to increase. At the same time, two other hormones – muscle building human growth hormone and prolactin, which over sees the immune system – decrease. Studies in animals (primates and rats) and older people show long-term exposure to abnormally high levels of cortisol can damage brain cells and cause shrinkage in the hippocampus, which is a critical region of the brain that regulates learning and memory.

     While being underweight may support longevity, too little sleep may hasten aging. Decline in sleep is one the earliest events of aging. People should preserve the quality of their sleep as carefully as they look after their nutrition, exercise, and attitude.

     Sleep quality rests on regular bedtime hours and keeping one’s bed for sleeping (and making love), and not watching TV. Try to avoid excitement before going to bed as well as caffeine, alcohol and drugs that may interfere with sleep.

     Eating high concentrations of protein for dinner gives you “long term” energy as well as loads up the digestive and assimilation process a nocturnal “second job”. You don’t need long term energy when you are sleeping unless to somnambulate several miles or hours. Many people sleep better after a high complex carbohydrate meal. Approximately 70% of the complex carbohydrates get converted into carbon dioxide and are excreted by the breath, if you breathe fully that is.

     Be careful using valerian. It can make one drowsy during the day. Melatonin may be safer and gentler but should be monitored by a health professional as should valerian. Turkey is a good protein as it has Tryptophan which is the precursor to serotonin which helps you sleep. Have your lover give you a foot massage.

     Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is our primary energy currency and is produced in large quantities during sleep. It among other tasks, replenishes the brain’s energy supplies. ATP is mostly made up of hydrogen and the oxygen we breathe Sleep deprivation causes the brain to bumble along on dwindling energy stores. Your judgment can go way down when this happens. You are not as aroused, your alertness suffers, and your reaction time decreases. Dr. Greene also states that ’With increasing sleep deprivation, people can’t avoid becoming drowsy and dropping off even when they don’t want to’. An insidious and subtle issue is the chair you are sitting in. Do you often fall asleep watching a program you would have rather stayed awake to watch?

     From a respiratory psychophysiology perspective even average breathing is the basis of a great deal of (internal) common sense. So for some, the above information is all that is needed to make a life saving/enhancing change. For others, whose nervous system, breathing blocks, and or lifestyle preclude this “common sense”, extra-ordinary or “optimal” measures are in order.

     The less we breathe the less we stay in touch with our intuitive sense. I asked the creator of a college holistic health program, “Why do we put our students under such high volume academically based, sleep-stealing stresses during school years and doesn’t that set up a pattern of future potential self abuse and why would we want to do that?” His answer was a sheepish grin and that “maybe it is some form of initiation”. I believe that part of the reason is that if the student is given more time to breathe and reflect on his or her inner processes that the student will do what the student feels is more appropriate for the student; that may challenge and threaten the smoothness and efficiency of the present educational system. A subject worth an entire library section.

First we shape our institutions then our institutions shape us. – Winston Churchill

     A sleep clinic employee who is also one of my clients reports that the sleep clinic attaches many electrodes to people to help them to sleep and the electrodes often keep the patient awake. If they keep some awake don’t you suspect they take others out of as deep a sleep as they might be otherwise capable of? As good as biofeedback can be, I experienced a restriction of my breathing from the rubber band around my chest.

     Anecdotal aside: L.M. Boyd’s Grab Bag column shares that “researchers say your marriage can be expected to last longer if your sleep/wake cycle is the same as your mate’s.” They recommend you synchronize your body clocks but don’t say how. A breathing exercise [PRODUCTS 120, 130, or 140] couples can do together can work wonders. The relationship might be less stressed and run smoother or more “consciously”.

     Barring adverse drug influences, there are simple breathing exercises that reduce pain, calm anxiety, and induce sleep. One special exercise forwarded from an emphysema victim is as follows:

1. Lie on your back and take 8 breaths

2. Lie on right side and take 16 breaths

3. Lie on left side and take 16 breaths.

You won’t get to 32 because you will be asleep.

If this doesn’t work, a simple exercise series taught in my Secrets of Optimal Natural Breathing or workshops and private sessions work quite well under most circumstances.

Make sure you have nostrils that are open.  

EXERCISE?

     Yes, absolutely, exercise can help one sleep, but muscle activation uses up some or a lot of the newly acquired energy from the breath. And what if you are temporarily or permanently unable to exercise? Any exercise uses up more energy than you could have built up had you just stayed motionless and consciously taken bigger breaths for an extended period of time. Kundalini Yoga practitioners often do this. But this breathing exercise based build-up of energy can be distracting and difficult to remain mentally focused on so I devised a recorded guided breathing exercise [PRODUCTS 130] which addresses the build-up without getting lost in rampant thoughts, excessive energy, and distracting body sensations. It can be done in bed, on a plane or wherever you can sit, walk or lie. Some find sleep much more restful after doing this exercise.

     Hakuin, perhaps history’s most famous Zen Buddhist monk said, “Meditation in movement is a billion times superior to meditation in stillness.” I am also working on a video for those looking for a “moving and breathing meditation.”

SNORING

     It is best for most to sleep on the back; but that is where most (not all) people snore. It supports the spine, takes weight off the rib cage and diaphragm which allows the breath to come into the softness of the belly without the weight of the body suppressing it, and allows the sinuses to drain. Yogis, meditators and those in deep, deep sleep rarely roll over or even move.

     Some say the Taoist way is to sleep on the side. This position compresses the ribcage on one side and if you sleep on the left side also compresses the heart. Granted you may be stiff in parts of your body that make side sleeping feel better or breathing easier but that does not make it optimal, just comfortable,... for now. I trust the on-the-back position much more than the side. It can require specific training, and weeks, months or sometimes years of patience and repeated attempts to get yourself sleeping on your back. The Secrets of Optimal Natural Breathing manual, private sessions and workshops addresses this.

Director, Sleep Disorders Center, Albany, NY. "Many individuals who snore, mouth breathe during sleep. The open mouth posture unfavorably alters the pharyngeal airway. Furthermore, the nasal mucosa, which is bypassed by mouth breathing, may have receptors which respond to airflow and serve as afferent stimuli for the neural regulatory mechanisms of respiration. Eliminating this afferent input to reflex arcs involving upper airway muscles may predispose one to Obstructive Sleep Apnea." (Sleep Medicine Chest Physicians Course Handbook)

Mouth Breathing

Though we need the mucous (not excessively though) and tiny hairs in the inside of the nose to filter dust and airborne particles, breathing from the mouth is on the average about twice as easy as through the nose. So during sleep, and situations calling for extra energy, we often take the path of least resistance and breathe through the mouth. During sleep, this opens the mouth and awakens the opportunity for sound. If the throat is blocked or the tongue is closing off the throat enough (a breathing block, excessive noise can occur.

Make sure you have nostrils that are open. Some habitual mouth breathers may want to keep their mouth closed with an aid called a Chin-Up Strip purchased in drug stores. The Breathe Right band-aid-type over the nose aid may also be of some use. Try each one and see how you like them Perhaps together as well. 

Deepest Sleep. The brain hemispheres are stimulated through the nostrils one side at a time perhaps for an hour or so back and forth between the two sides. On the average, mucous production is about a pint of nasal/sinus mucous daily. It filters the air you breathe. This mucous drains down the throat and gets filtered and recycled. When you sleep on your side you risk sinus or nostril mucous draining that closes off the downward nostril. When this happens you must roll over to the other side one or several times per night to unclog it. This takes from the depth of sleep and when you do not roll over, the downward nostril stays clogged and the left brain hemisphere becomes excessively stimulated instead of being alternately stimulated along with the right side of the brain. Air particle debris collects in the downward sinus and nasal passage as well. This invites infections.

Due to low back and body weight pressure on the belly breath, stomach sleep is not acceptable under almost all circumstances though I have used certain equipment and props with good success. Sinus drainage often comes out the nose or lodges in the lungs instead of being recycled.

From a respiratory psychophysiology perspective, stomach sleeping has been an indicator of long term unresolved emotional issues or present time anxieties or insecurity(ies). A strong desire to sleep on the belly can draw one’s attention to an emotional issue surfacing for resolution. Lie on your back and place your left hand over your heart and right hand on your belly. It should feel somewhat comforting. There are several “sleeping on back” training insights taught in workshops, private sessions and the workbook

Snoring can be extremely stressful to the listener but it is often a sign of something other then just making as disturbing noise. A friend at a local University hospital sleep clinic tells me they are connecting snoring with heart ailments. Snoring effects breathing, breathing effects oxygen and stress responses which overload heart efforts. Snoring can be caused by a closing of the throat and the breath meeting resistance and creating a noise of friction and obstruction. This closing can be mechanical, i.e. the position you are holding your neck and throat, your jaw dropping to close off your throat, or when something is swelling your wind passage such as allergies or some other sort of inflammation. 

It has also occurred in people that are learning to breathe better as they are taking in more “wind” and the throat has not reopened enough yet to allow for the extra passage of air. I have had laryngitis sufferers experience their symptoms greatly reducing when we addressed breathing blocks in the throat area. I deduced from that that part of the reason for the loss of voice had been the constriction of a bent throat pipe, and not solely from inflammation. Mucous and bacteria can collect at pathways of resistance, much like gold will settle in the exterior portion of the curves of rivers.

And when the natural breathing pathway is restored or improved there is almost always a corresponding depth and or ease of the sleeping state. The deeper and easier the breath the deeper the sleep. That’s probably why snoring and depth of sleep are often associated. The breath is deeper but not as coordinated as it could be.

Sleep stealers are pillows that are too thick and cause the glottis to close down or do not support the throat in the way it needs to be to remain at it’s most open position. Try a buckwheat hull pillow and remove some hulls so you don’t raise your head and close off your windpipe even the slightest. I’m not happy with most other neck pillows I’ve found in medical professional offices. A towel rolled up to create kind of a arch support for the neck is the best "pillow" there is.

A possibly severe form of snoring is sleep apnea where the breathing stops altogether and one awakens out of breath and sometimes in a panic state. I understand that some forms of severe apnea are connected with higher risk of heart problems and stroke. This may well be largely from the relationship between breathing, and the heart’s need for copious quantities of oxygen. Try the products from The Family Health News catalogue. 1 800 284-6263 code #71089 The first issue is free when you use the preceding phone number and code.

Dr. Andrew Weil states that snoring can also stem from hypothyroidism (poor breathing makes worse) or a deviated septum. Avoid tranquilizers and nervous system depressants before sleep.

Aside from my favorite "stick-ons such as the Chin-Up Strip and Breathe Right. , there are a few inexpensive products available where each supplier states a very high degree of snoring reduction success:

• Snorguard? 1 (800) 680-9361, http//www.snoreguard.com. I received one and it looks quite serviceable. You heat it in the micro or boiling water to shape it to your teeth. You can breathe through your mouth with it in. You should have your dentist fit it. It has been used to wean people off the mechanical ventilators in conjunction with Optimal Breathing programs.
•  Snorban? Purchased in over the counter drug stores www.snorban.com/products.htm but you can’t breathe through your mouth or CPAP in case your nose is stuffy, and Silent Nite? (an herbal-amino acid combo) address snoring. Also Vitamin B12, biotin, magnesium have been mentioned as relevant. Special magnetized mattresses have had some success. I got some benefit from one for one night. After then I didn’t notice any difference. No trouble sleeping anyway. Try them out before you buy them.
• Snor Stop "Clinically proven to stop or reduce the symptoms of snoring www.snorstop.com
• Dr. Weil recommends ’lose weight if you are overweight, get plenty of sleep, and avoid alcohol, cigarettes, sleeping pills and antihistamines’.
• Sharper Image has a ’Mini Snore Control’ that wakes you up several times. Wonder if it adds to excessive sleep loss? I don’t think its a good idea.

The American School of Medicine’s newly published June 1998 Resource Manual includes a published paper where the author states that surgical means to alleviate snoring has not been widely accepted as yet. I have heard of surgery in the throat even removing the uvula. If they have not tried the other means I believe this is akin to unbridled abuse of surgical modality. 

“Diagnosis usually requires tests called polysomnography, conducted in a sleep lab. These tests measure the frequency and duration of apnea episodes, as well as heartbeat rate, frequency of awakening, and changes in arterial oxygen saturation. OSA may be treated with behavioral methods, continuous or intermittent positive airway pressure devices (CPAP) or (IPAP), or surgical treatments. No currently available treatment is very successful. IPAP or CPAP is usually most successful, but many patients find the devices difficult to use. Tracheostomy is the only other treatment that is as effective, but few patients want surgery that requires a permanent prosthesis in the neck. Don't blame them as I believe with correct breathing training and internal coordination plus optimal ergonomics most of these problems can be dealt with effectively. But sadly, the doctor is most often the last word on this which is compounded by the fact that most medical research behind breathing is based on experiments with rodents and monkeys. None of which breathe like humans.  

According to my research, compared to protriptyline, the principal medication used for OSA, oral appliances work better and have fewer side effects. (Oral Appliances for the Treatment of Snoring and Obstructive Sleep Apnea, a Review, Schmidt-Norwara, et. al., Sleep, March 1995).’ Borrowed from https://www.snoreguard.com/apnea.html 1 (800) 680-9361

For sleep apnea; clients of mine have had success with the Breathing Exercise #1, aka The Serenity Breathing Mediation, or an exercise learned in workshops and private sessions.