Sleep & Good Health

Sleep is, in fact, an essential ingredient for our well-being, and it manifests both externally and internally. Work it out for yourself.....the normal human being is supposed to spend about one third of his/her life in sleep. Why would nature have programmed us that way if it had not been absolutely necessary? In fact, cell regeneration and cell growth is known to occur only during periods of rest, and many hormones essential to proper functioning of the human body are produced only when the body is at its deepest sleep stage.

Have you noticed how your entire facial structure changes after a night of undisturbed, relaxed sleep? Hollows under the eyes plump up, ravines flanking your nose turn into manageable furrows, the eyes sparkle, the eye-whites become, well 'white'. instead of off-white or pink. Don't you feel absolutely wrecked the morning after a night without sleep and rest?

What is sleep? Let's first understand the process of sleep, before examining how sleep changes with age, and what you can do to ensure that you get enough of this natural panacea for all problems. When someone asks you to 'sleep on it', you are getting good advice, because your subconscious mind gets to work on the problem overnight.

Scientists have used the following behavioral criteria in an attempt to define sleep in universally accepted terms:

There are 2 basic stages in the sleep process. REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep and NREM (non-REM) sleep. NREM sleep is divided further into four sleep stages, numbered 1, 2, 3 and 4. Normal sleep begins with stage 1 and progresses into 2, 3 and 4, getting more and more deep with each stage. The deeper sleep is achieved at stages 3 and 4. (This is also the stage during which HGH and melatonin is released by the pineal gland). The fifth stage, which is actually lighter, is REM sleep, during which dreaming occurs.
The different sleep stages are also referred to as S-sleep (synchronized EEG pattern sleep) and D-sleep (desynchronized EEG pattern sleep). D-sleep is the same as REM or dream sleep; S-sleep is another name for NREM, ( also known as orthodox or quiet sleep).

The five stages of sleep:

Stage 1: As we fall asleep, we enter the transition state called stage 1 and begin our first "sleep cycle". This very light sleep stage usually lasts 2-5 minutes. If sleep remains undisturbed it will progress to stage 2 sleep. Stage 1 contributes 2-5 % of normal sleep, (but increases hugely in cases of insomnia and disorders that produce frequent arousals such as apnea) .

Stage 2: This is a much deeper sleep than stage 1. The brain waves go into theta mode, and lead into stages 3 and 4 in around 10-20 minutes. Stage 2 sleep occupies approximately 50-65% of our sleep time, lasting 15-30 minutes in each cycle.. During the latter part of the night we spend more and more time alternating between stages 2 & REM sleep.

Stage 4: The deepest sleep of all, during which a sleeping person is 'dead to the world'. Blood pressure and heart rate fluctuate and the sleeper's brain heats up. Delta sleep is characterized by very high voltage slow brain waves. It is similar to being in a coma, but unlike a coma, it's reversible. As we transverse these first four stages of sleep our respiration and heart rate slow and the body is almost immobile.

Stage 5: REM (rapid eye movement). All of a sudden, after 20-30 minutes of slow wave sleep, we transfer back into stage 2, and almost immediately change gears into very active brain wave pattern known as REM sleep. Simultaneous with this transfer into REM, our respiration and heart rate increases substantially and we lose our ability to use our postural or skeletal muscles.
The first REM period lasts only about ten minutes. After that, the sleeper goes back into a deep stage 4 sleep. Again, the sleeper returns into a REM stage after a short period, and cycles through REM and stage 4 continue until the sleeper awakens. Along with this, our brain becomes so activated that we start to hallucinate and dream. Our eyes move as in wakefulness, and in relation to what we are dreaming. In effect, we are, at this stage ,a highly activated brain in a paralyzed body. This paradoxical state will last 10-20 minutes and then we "fall" back down into stage 2 again.

This is the end of a sleep cycle and then it all starts over again, As the night progresses we gradually lose our delta sleep, and replace it with longer and longer periods of alternating stage 2 and REM sleep. By the final sleep cycle of the night, we spend approximately half our sleep time in stage 2 and half in REM.

NREM and REM states occur in a roughly 90 minute cycles, which is repeated 5 to 6 times a night. In most adults Stages 3 and 4, or Delta sleep, are completed within the first two 90 minute sleep cycles, or within the first three hours of sleep. Contrary to popular belief, it is delta sleep that is the "deepest" stage of sleep (not REM) and the most restorative. It is delta sleep that a sleep deprived person's brain craves the first and foremost. In children, delta sleep can occupy up to 40% of all sleep time.

During the day while we are awake, our normal brain wave pattern is mainly in a high-frequency beta pattern. When we fall asleep, our brain-wave patterns slow down changing first from beta into alpha (pre-sleep drowsiness), and then into a back-and-forth cycle through REM sleep followed by NREM sleep. Stage 2 & REM sleep takes place in a theta brain-wave pattern, while non-REM sleep stages 3 & 4 happens in the slower delta pattern, which occur during the first part of the sleep cycle.

As we age, our sleep pattern changes. Recent data suggests that 70 million Americans may suffer from either chronic sleep disorder, or intermittent sleep deprivation.

However, it's important to remember that many healthy elderly individuals have no, or few, sleep problems. Nor is insomnia, trouble falling asleep at night, or frequent drowsing by day inevitable with increasing age.

So, what are the causes of these changes in the sleep pattern?
Sleep is an active state with many different components in a neurological sense. In addition to the aging process, sleep can be disordered, either on account of disease or dysfunction of the nervous system, and/or of the mind.

Sleep may be disrupted by:
Changes in one's circadian rhythm (biological clock). Circadian rhythms are biological cycles of about 24 hours that include sleep/wake, body temperature and melatonin secretion cycles. The sleep/wake cycle is controlled by our biological clock. The average younger adult gets sleepy at around 10 or 11 PM and sleeps for 8 to 9 hours, waking between 6 to 8 AM. As we age, our circadian clock advances, causing advanced sleep phase syndrome. People with this syndrome get sleepy early in the evening (around 8 or 9 PM). If they were to go to bed at that time, they would sleep for about 8 hours and wake up 4 to 5 AM. However, when they try to stay up to 10-11 PM, their bodies still wake up at 4 to 5 AM. This means they only get 5-6 hours of sleep, the amount of time they were in bed before their advanced sleep -wake cycle wakes them up.

The elderly generally secrete lesser amounts of certain chemicals that regulate the sleep/wake cycle. Both melatonin (a substance produced by the pineal gland that promotes sleep and influences the sleep biological clock) and human growth hormone (HGH) production decrease with age. HGH, another hormone required for sound sleep, is an essential ingredient for maintenance of bone and muscle tissue as well as for cell growth. Production of these hormones takes place when the brain goes into certain theta and delta levels while in sleep. However, with aging, the brain achieves these brain patterns with less regularity, so normal production gets disrupted. The HoloSync program uses sound frequencies to ensure that theta and delta patterns of the brain are maximised during sleep.

Rise in levels of the stress hormone, cortisol , in the evenings, adds to the reduction in abilty to enter theta wave stage.

There are also changes in the body temperature cycle, which occur with age.

In addition, decrease in exposure to natural light and a change in diet may compound sleep difficulties. Bright, natural light is considered essential for proper functioning of the circadian rhythm.

Lack of exercise and decreased mental stimulation may also lead to sleep defiency. (Practice The Tibetan Technique daily, like we do, to keep yourself fit).

Medical sleep disorders such as Sleep Apnea
(also known as Sleep Disordered Breathing): e.g.
there are at least four sleep disorders which are far
more common in older people than in the young:
* sleep apnea,
* restless legs syndrome,
* periodic limb movements disorder, and
* advanced sleep phase syndrome

However, these conditions can all be helped by customised
sleep & relaxation products

Medical problems that include arthritis, heartburn, osteoporosis, and heart and lung disease, may also interrupt, delay, or abbreviate sleep. Everyday ailments like headaches, muscle aches, leg cramps, and sinus pain disturb our rest more often as we age. Consult with your doctor. Medication may also become necessary in cases of intense pain from Arthritis, requiring immediate relief.
Learn more about Syn-flex, pharmaceutical grade liquid glucosamine arthritis treatment.

Drugs prescribed to treat medical conditions can occasionally result in sleep loss.

Physical changes associated with aging may also play a role. Aches and pains may lengthen the time it takes to fall asleep...and interrupt sleep thereafter. An aging bladder leads to the need to use the bathroom more frequently at night.

Psychological conditions including stress, depression, anxiety, alcoholism or drug abuse can result in loss of sleep. All of these conditions can cause the brain to lose the ability to enter the slower brain wave patterns of restful sleep . These patterns are where your brain and endocrine system make the essential substances needed for youthful vitality and well-being. These (and other) situations can cause the brain to lose some or all of its natural plasticity - its natural ability to easily and effortlessly change and flow into the different patterns of electrical energy necessary for optimum sleep. The Sedona method is a self-help program developed to enable you come to terms with yourself, deal with stress, anxiety, depression and fear. We have great faith in it.

More information regarding sleep habits affecting sleep

Sleep Loss Solutions

Sleep & Aging

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