Mark Blumenthal
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 Gessner and Klasser, 1984
Sleep
R, DB
n=l 1 adults
2 nights
1 or 2 capsules (60 or 120 mg)
Harmonicum Much® valepotriate preparation
Both dosages showed a decrease in sleep Stage 4 and a slight reduction of rem sleep, and slight increase of sleep Stage awake, 1,2, and 3. Changes or Beta-intensity of EEG during rem sleep show stronger hypnotic effect for 120 mg dosage than for 60 mg dosage. Maximum effect was observed between 2 and 3 hours after medication. |
Victoria Boutenko, M.A.
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 REM sleep at all and most nights frequently woke up two to three times from lack of oxygen. I was beyond conventional help. Because of my poor sleep, I was exhausted all day long and I would literally fall asleep every five to ten minutes no matter what I was doing, or where I was. So my life became brief moments of being awake in pain and struggling to function as best I could before I fell asleep again. 1 was depressed all the time and cried on a daily basis, usually for nothing. |
James F. Balch, M.D. and Mark Stengler, N.D.
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 We also find that elevated levels of the stress hormone Cortisol interfere with deep rem sleep, which studies confirm. It is not uncommon to find seniors with deficiencies in DHEA, testosterone, and growth hormone, which can be underlying causes as well. The sleep hormone melatonin can work wonders in selected cases, when supplemented correctly.
If you suffer from insomnia, you may find that the gentle treatments in this section help you get a good night's sleep. If they don't, talk to your doctor. |
Win Wenger, Ph.D. and Richard Poe
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 To keep us from harming ourselves and others, a safety switch deep in our brain stem largely shuts off our muscular system during rem sleep, effectively paralyzing us. That safety mechanism broke down in the case of the man described above.17
POLE-BRIDGING
Just as in a dream, the imaginary sights, sounds, and sensations of Image Streaming activate the appropriate brain centers in a near-perfect simulation of reality. Neurologically speaking, an Image Streamer talks, listens, sees, smells, tastes, feels, analyzes, reflects, wonders, creates, and generates mental imagery all at the same time. |
| Researchers at the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, Israel, have discovered that learned skills consolidate in the brain during rem sleep. Performance of certain tasks actually improves the day after the new skill is learned, even when there has been no practice in between.12 A similar effect seems to occur with PhotoReading.
Step 8: Activate
Sometimes information that you have PhotoRead will be activated spontaneously, without your conscious awareness. A professor at a state university in Minnesota once PhotoRead two books in preparation for a speech he was giving. Then he slept on it. |
Phyllis A. Balch, CNC
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 The combination of California poppy, passionflower, and valerian promote sound sleep and beneficial rem sleep. California poppy and chamomile will strengthen the nervous system to calm you before bedtime.
Q Catnip and chamomile have mild sedative properties. These herbs are safe even for children if taken in tea form. For adults, drinking chamomile tea several times throughout the day helps to calm and tone the nervous system, promoting restful sleep.
Caution: Do not use chamomile on an ongoing basis. Avoid it completely if you are allergic to ragweed.
þ Kava kava is a good relaxant. |
Win Wenger, Ph.D. and Richard Poe
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| The profound trance of rem sleep opens the mind to deep-rooted thoughts and emotions so far removed from our everyday concerns that they are often impenetrable. There is always great benefit to be gained from dreamwork, and it never ceases to fascinate, but if your aim is to enhance creativity and solve specific problems, you should supplement your arsenal with far more direct and efficient methods.
YOU CAN "DREAM" WHILE YOU'RE AWAKE
How, then, can you best gain access to the remarkable flow of unconscious perception? Over the last twenty-five years, I believe I have found an answer. |
Phyllis A. Balch, CNC
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| Many doctors feel that sleep paralysis is similar to cataplexy and to the state that accompanies rem sleep, in which motor activity is inhibited even though the brain is active. This phenomenon is not strictly limited to people with narcolepsy; many otherwise healthy people may experience it occasionally.
Like sleep paralysis, sleep-related hallucinations— medically termed hypnagogic phenomena—usually occur just prior to sleep, or sometimes upon awakening. The affected individual may hear sounds that aren't there and/or see illusions. These visual and auditory illusions are very vivid. |
Michael Friedman, ND
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 Since rem sleep is closely associated with memory storage, there is clinical value for use of DHEA in age-related dementia.74"75 Recent preclinical research also reveals that DHEA may prevent neuronal damage and even reverse symptoms of senile dementia in Alzheimer's patients deficient in DHEA.76
Immune Function
The decline of DHEA levels with aging correlates with a general decline of cell-mediated immunity and increased incidence of malignancies, suggesting immunomodulatory effects for DHEA. |
Sue Palmer
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 Not unnaturally, people are much more likely to wake during a period of shallower rem sleep, and, if so, they may well remember fragments of their dreams.
Learn while you sleep?
So why is sleep so important in terms of children's learning? The most obvious reason is its effects on mood and behaviour. Every parent knows from bitter experience that over-tired children are cranky and unpleasant. Unlike adults, who grow drowsier when they're tired, sleepy children often get more 'wired' and uncontrollable. |
| Napping also seems to consist mainly of rem sleep, which, as described above, is necessary to consolidate the hands-on physical learning of early infancy. So babies and toddlers need naps, both to restore energy and good temper and to consolidate the huge amount of learning they do every day.
However, our present-day resentment at wasting time asleep means that these days we don't attach much benefit to naps. All too often, children's napping habits conflict with childcare arrangements or other facets of modern life, and the naps have to be curtailed or abandoned altogether. |
Phyllis A. Balch, CNC
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| Enhances rem sleep.
Promotes serotonin production.
Vitamin C
500 mg daily.
Very important for reducing with stress. bioflavonoids
Zinc
15 mg daily.
Aids in the recovery of body tissues while sleeping.
Herbs
Q California poppy, hops, kava kava, lemon balm, passionflower, skullcap, and valerian root, taken in capsule or extract form, are all good for helping to overcome insomnia. Valerian root has become the favorite among many experts. It is best not to rely on one herb on a regular basis, but to rotate among several. Take these herbs before bedtime. |
Abram Hoffer, PhD, MD, FRCP(C) and Dr. Jonathan Prousjy, DPHE, DSC, ND, FRSH
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 It can reduce pain, improve fatigue, mitigate carbohydrate cravings, and enhance sleep quality and rem sleep, which explain the value of using this amino acid for the treatment of many clinical conditions.
Optimum Dose
Tryptophan requires a prescription for use, whereas 5-HTP is available over the counter as an extract from the African seed plant, Griffonia simplicifolia.
Tryptophan: Tryptophan is used in doses of 500 mg to 12 g daily. For insomnia, the dose is 1 to 3 g taken before bed on an empty stomach. |
KC Craichy
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 However, if you deprive yourself of rem sleep on a routine basis, say through the routine use of alcohol, there will eventually come a day when all of these accumulated psychological stressors will break though into consciousness, with the ttagic result that you can become mentally ill. This REM rebound effect has been known to cause visual and auditory hallucinations, extreme anxiety, and panic attacks. |
Phyllis A. Balch, CNC
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| While there is much about the phenomenon of dreaming that is not understood, it is known that prolonged periods of rem sleep deprivation can induce various psychoses and other serious emotional disorders.
Unless otherwise specified, the dosages recommended here are for adults. For children between the ages of twelve and seventeen, reduce the dose to three-quarters the recommended amount. For children between six and twelve, use one-half the recommended dose, and for children under the age of six, use one-quarter the recommended amount. |
| It is rem sleep that is most often associated with dreaming. The stages of sleep are further broken down as follows:
• Stage 1: Light sleep. We drift in and out and can be awakened easily. Our eyes move slowly and muscle activity slows.
• Stage 2: Light sleep. Our eye movement stops and our brain waves become slower, with occasional bursts of rapid waves called sleep spindles.
• Stage 3: Deep sleep. Extremely slow brain waves called delta waves appear, interspersed with smaller, faster waves.
• Stage 4: Deep sleep. The brain produces mostly delta waves. |
KC Craichy
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| Melatonin helps to regulate rem sleep, just as it also helps to make us drowsy so that we feel like sleeping. This is especially important for insomniacs. Melatonin is also extremely effective for restoring sleep cycles when you change time zones. My favorite way of taking melatonin is to take it one hour before the time I want to be asleep.
It is wise to begin with the smallest dose of melatonin (say 1 mg or even less), so that you slowly test and adjust yourself up to the most effective dose for you as an individual. |
Textbook of Natural Medicine 2nd Edition Volume 1Michael T. Murray, ND
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| In one of the studies, the subjects receiving 200 mg of 5-HTP increased the amount of rem sleep by 15.5 minutes during the 5 night study.36 Those subjects taking 600 mg of 5-HTP increased rem sleep time by an average of 20 minutes for the 5 night study. These results indicate that 5-HTP increases the amount of dream time by about 3-4 minutes a night.
Although there was a clear dose-related effect, the lower dosage is sufficient in most cases. In addition, taking too much 5-HTP may increase rem sleep to an abnormal level, lead to an increased risk for disturbing dreams (i.e. |
KC Craichy
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| The solution to this problem is straightforward—the individual must do everything in their power to eliminate the drugs, including caffeine, alcohol, or other substances that are blocking rem sleep at night and focus on improving all of the Seven Golden Keys. Once this is done, the problem will eventually take care of itself, although a period of extremely vivid dreaming may ensue while the brain seeks to retain internal equilibrium within itself. |
Gabriel Cousens, M.D.
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 It improves rem sleep. It is amazing how two droppers of angstrom-size gold at bedtime helps many people, especially elders, sleep through the night.
Gold is a pure amalgam, which means it sticks to all the elements. Angstrom-size gold is used by the body to repair DNA damage and thus slows down the aging process. Gold has also been shown to help with many glandular functions. Some anecdotal research suggests that children given ionic gold supplements have improved IQ function and a better learning curve. The best source is angstrom-size gold. |
Phyllis A. Balch, CNC
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| Sleeping pills do not cure insomnia, and they can interfere with rem sleep. The continued use of pharmacological sleeping aids can eventually lead to disruption of all the deeper stages of sleep. Researchers have found that up to 50 percent of people who take sleeping pills on a regular basis actually find that their msomnia becomes worse. The persistent use of sleeping pills also leads to dependency, either psychological or physical. The use of sleep medication should therefore be reserved for those whose insomnia has a physical basis, and then only as a temporary solution. |
Doreen Virtue, Ph.D.
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 Other chemicals, including alcohol and Valium, affect serotonin because they lessen the amount of time we spend in rem sleep.9 The main reason you feel hungover after a drinking binge is that you haven't had enough dreams (despite those crazy dreams you remember from the early morning hours) to satisfy your serotonin-manufacturing needs.
Valium, and other similar tranquilizers, completely inhibit rem sleep. Not only that, but Valium has a "half-life." The day after you take one Valium, there is still one-half a Valium active within you. |
Cynthia A. Foster, M.D.
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 The scientists have already proven that lack of rem sleep, the part of sleep that includes dreaming, eventually results in insanity. Over the short term, this lack of rem sleep results in irritability, short tempers, poor concentration and many other problems. Doctors' "dislike for patients" doesn't randomly appear out of nowhere! Why don't we ever look to the obvious for what's causing the problem - lack of sleep, abuse and mistreatment.
During the gynecology part of the rotation, I learned all of the different birth control pills, doses of estrogen, and progesterone. |
Mark Blumenthal
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| Changes or Beta-intensity of EEG during rem sleep show stronger hypnotic effect for 120 mg dosage than for 60 mg dosage. Maximum effect was observed between 2 and 3 hours after medication.
Kamm-Kohl et ai, 1984
Mood and sleep
PC
n=80 hospitalized geriatric patients
2 weeks
6 tablets/day (482 mg valerian extract/day)
Valdispert® forte
Significant improvements in mood and behavioral disturbances, as well as sleep. |
| No effects on duration of rem sleep.Tended to decrease sleep stage 1 (falling asleep) and sleep latency (waking stage).
Warnecke et al., 1990
Perimenopausal symptoms
R, DB, PC n=20
12 weeks
One 150 mg tablet kava extract (30 mg kavalactones) 2x daily for 4 weeks, followed by 1 tablet, Ix daily starting week 5
Kavosporal®
After 4 weeks, the kava group demonstrated a highly significant (p=0.00l) reduction in peri-menopausal symptoms. At 12 weeks, statistical sampling was not possible due to a dropout in the number of placebo-group patients. |
Earl L. Mindell, RPh, PhD with Virginia Hopkins, MA
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| In one study, a large dose of DHEA given before sleep to 10 healthy young men increased the amount of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. rem sleep is the most restorative kind of sleep and is reduced in the elderly.
In a study of pregnant women, intravenous DHEAS (the sulfate form, the same form as the body's reservoir of DHEA) dilated a major eye artery, increasing blood flow. This points to a possible use of DHEAS as a blood vessel dilator that can improve circulation to the eyes.
It follows that raising DHEA levels could have powerful health-enhancing and youth-preserving effects. |
Mark Blumenthal
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| Case series and randomized controlled trials have demonstrated valerian extract is effective in treating mild-to-moderate sleeping disorders without adverse effects on rem sleep, and without significant hangover effects (See the table, "Clinical Studies on Valerian," at the end of this monograph).
Animal
Coronary artery dilating and anti-arrhythmic effects. |
| There was no effect on self-reported sleep quality, sleep onset time, rem sleep time, or time awake after onset of sleep.
Balderer and Borberly, 1985
Sleep
DB, PC n= 18 healthy subjects with a history of sleep
disturbances
3 weeks
450 or 900 mg extract 30 minutes before bed
Aqueous valerian extract (brand not stated)
Valerian extract had mild sleep-promoting action without significant residual or "hangover" effect. |
Gary Null, Ph.D.
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 Results showed that DHEA significantly increased rem sleep relative to controls, with no changes seen in the other sleep variables. Previous studies have shown rem sleep to be involved in memory storage, thus these findings point to a benefit of DHEA in age- related dementia.
—E. Friess, et al., "DHEA Administration Increases Rapid Eye Movement Sleep and EEG Power in the Sigma Frequency Range," American Journal of Physiol, 268(1 Pt 1), January 1995, p. E107-13. |
Mark Hyman, M.D.
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 Alcohol also interferes with normal sleep patterns and can decrease rem sleep, leading to a chaotic rhythm and all its attendant ills. If you are having trouble sleeping, or are tired in the day, try avoiding alcohol altogether for a few months and see what happens.
Get regular exposure to daylight
Do this for at least twenty minutes a day. Sunlight triggers the brain to release specific chemicals and hormones, such as melatonin, that are vital to healthy sleep, mood, and aging. |
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