I am a Chemical Engr.
My age is 52 years.
I do lot of experiments with my body.
My findings are as follow.

Whenever I do not carry out any physical exercise or Pranayam (Breathing Exercise) in the eveing I get less sleep at night.

Does it mean that when Oxygen content in the blood drops down to certain level it gives signal to brain to stop the sleep.
When we are awake normal oxygen level is slowly restored due to body movement.

Again at night if I do Pranayam(Breathing Exercise) I get nice sleep after that.

One can try above methods to solve the problem of insomnia or parasomnia.

There is no harm in implementing this rather than taking pills for sleep.

Pls share your experience.

P.J.LAKHAPATE
plakhapate@rediffmail.com

Research "sleep apnea." I have this but for different reasons, although my father also says he suffers from it. I wake up at night sometimes short of air because I broke four ribs that healed incorrectly (they are now overlapped).

Your situation sounds completely different. Have you tried working out in the mornings rather that the evenings? Afterall, working out and exercising in the morning would get you wide-awake for the rest of the day. Mentally, this sequence works great for me.

I used to take sleeping pills till I somehow became immune to them; its usual for the body to shift from unequilibrium to equilibrium. The best way to get enough sleep is in an oxygen rich atmosphere coupled with good blood flow. I think lack of oxygen renders one unconcious, and there is a difference between unconcious and sleeping. Its best to leave things in their natural cycle, getting sleep or not is up to your psychophysics.

i take ginko biloba.... it increases blood flow to the brain...

i take it everyday, and before i sleep...

and i sleep like a baby... and early the next day.. usually.. about 6.30 or 7...

i just wake up... and i am well rested.

ginko... love it.
(I USED TO HAVE TROUBLE SLEEPING... and never woke up rested.)

-MT

I would say the key link here is metabolism. I've always found I sleep better at night if I get excercise during the day. I think blood flow to the brain makes all the difference.

Contrary to the advice of the "experts" I put off most of my eating until late in the day and eat a lot of desserts right before bed. That makes me sleep well and also keeps me from getting drowsy during the day.

Research "sleep apnea." I have this but for different reasons, although my father also says he suffers from it. I wake up at night sometimes short of air because I broke four ribs that healed incorrectly (they are now overlapped).

Your situation sounds completely different. Have you tried working out in the mornings rather that the evenings? Afterall, working out and exercising in the morning would get you wide-awake for the rest of the day. Mentally, this sequence works great for me.
Hey valich,

How did you find out that was the cause?

... eat a lot of desserts right before bed. That makes me sleep well ....There is a well know "rebound effect" with insulin. You should eat your sugar about two hours before bed time for best effect. the insulin surge will burn up the sugar and still be in your blood (the rebound) and you will be tired and sluggish at bed time. Might be a good idea to do mild work out about 45 minutes after eating the sugar to use it well, not get fat on it etc. and be more relaxed afterwards waiting for the rebound (insulin to be high and lower blood sugar.)

Truthseeker: I said, I have sleep apnea - shortness of breath, or a "transient cessation of respiration" - "because I broke four ribs"? Actually, I don't think that this is the reason - and I do take sleep meds, but wish I didn't have to (longterm side-effects?). I don't know what meds to take but if I don't then I get up six seven times during the night, have nightmares, and wakeup exhausted. If I take sleep meds, I get a good night's sleep and wake up feeling happy, bright, cheereful and rosey - ready to start a new day!

Have you tried herbs?

Sorry. I know that was kind've a dumb reply I made above. But then again, if you think about it, why wouldn't I have "day apnea" too. I don't just suddenly run out of air during the day and start gasping for breath, although I can't run very far without getting exhausted very quick. And sleeping meds should also slow your respiratory system down and and make the problem worse, no?

No, I haven't tried any herbs specifically for sleep problems. What kind've herbs are known to help?

Huuummm... I actually don't know which ones would be helpful particularly for sleep apnea...

However, I can give you some herbs for insomnia...
A few: hops, cannabis (yeah, THAT one :D ), heather, dandelion, german camomille, rosemary...

Hops is pretty nice. You can try make a tea. 1 tsp of hops in 1/2 cup of water.

There are a lot of things to try... You can try to use all of them in a tea, for example. Of course, I would be careful with it! :D

Herbs can be kinda dangerous too. Nutmeg, for example, can kill you if you eat as much as two of them. :eek:

Anyways... I need to do a little more research on that... But hops is fine- I used it myself. I like it more for indigestion, however. It's pretty calming, nevertheless.

Oh, and my mom used to give me camomille to help me sleep. But I'm not sure if that's strong enough for you...

I am a Chemical Engr.
My age is 52 years.
I do lot of experiments with my body.
My findings are as follow.

Whenever I do not carry out any physical exercise or Pranayam (Breathing Exercise) in the eveing I get less sleep at night.

Does it mean that when Oxygen content in the blood drops down to certain level it gives signal to brain to stop the sleep.
When we are awake normal oxygen level is slowly restored due to body movement.

Again at night if I do Pranayam(Breathing Exercise) I get nice sleep after that.

One can try above methods to solve the problem of insomnia or parasomnia.

There is no harm in implementing this rather than taking pills for sleep.

Pls share your experience.

P.J.LAKHAPATE
plakhapate@rediffmail.com

I also find that I sleep better if I get physical exercise. My mood is generally better, too. Oxygen's good.

"cannabis (yeah, THAT one :D ),

Someone did tell me that I could probably get a legal prescription for it too, but it gets me paranoid and causes me to not to be able to concentrate very deeply.