Mental Health Quotes

Sometimes we try too hard to sleep. Once we look too hard for it, it eludes us. For some people, this anxiety is lifted when they actually reverse what they're trying to do. Rather than trying to sleep, they try to stay awake. This is called "paradoxical intention." If you feel you "must sleep or "have to get to sleep" or you are "trying" hard to sleep, then give paradoxical intention a try, and see how long you can stay awake. [2021] - Judith R. Davidson

Excessive daytime sleepiness, loud snoring, waking with snorts or gasping for air, and waking up with a headache are all possible symptoms of a sleep related breathing disorder and they warrant a trip to your family physician as soon as possible. [2021] - Judith R. Davidson

Contrary to traditional cautions against exercising within 3-4 hours of bedtime, we now know that exercise within 3 hours of bed is unlikely to interfere with sleep. In fact, it may be helpful. Regular strength workouts are associated with improved sleep quality according to people's ratings. Mind-body exercises such as yoga and tai chi are also associated with improved sleep quality ratings. Overall, people feel their sleep is improved when they exercise, regardless of the type of exercise. The sleep benefits of exercise may not be so evident if you have chronic insomnia. If you have persistent insomnia, combine your regular exercise program with CBT-I and insomnia doesn't have a chance. [2021] - Judith R. Davidson

In general, people with bed partners report that they sleep better when the partner is present compared to when that person is away. They hold this belief although, when their sleep is measured by electrodes or movement sensors, their sleep is actually better when they sleep alone! [2021] - Judith R. Davidson

Even though CBT-I hasn't yet been tested with all medical conditions, it probably works well to reverse insomnia regardless of the presence of medical conditions if you have the energy, strength and motivation to do it. [2021] - Judith R. Davidson

Insomnia usually goes along with depression. Sleep lab studies show some changes in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep: It tends to start earlier in the night, and there's more than usual in the first part of the night. The amount of deep (slow wave) sleep is usually reduced. With some types of depression, a different pattern occurs-one of hypersomnia (excessive sleep). For example, with seasonal affective disorder, which is depression that occurs with winter darkness and lifts with longer hours of daylight, people often sleep more than usual and have trouble waking up in the morning. [2021] - Judith R. Davidson

After about 2-4 weeks of nightly use, BzRAs (benzodiazepine receptor agonists such as zopiclone) typically become less effective due to "tolerance." This means the dose you have been taking starts to have less effect; therefore, you need a higher dose to get the same effect. This can lead to dependence, which occurs when you have great difficulty sleeping without the medication. "Rebound insomnia" is sleep difficulty that occurs if you've been taking a BzRA every night for a while and then you suddenly stop taking it. If you have been using the medication every night for more than 4 weeks, ask your healthcare professional or pharmacist for advice on how to reduce the dose in a step-by-step way to avoid withdrawal effects. [2021] - Judith R. Davidson

Sometimes, instead of prescribing a BzRA for sleep, physicians prescribe a low does of an antidepressant (such as trazodone) or antipsychotic medication. It's debatable whether this type of low-dose treatment of insomnia is better than treatment with BzRAs. Stopping these medications after months or years of taking them is usually more straightforward than stopping BzRAs, although they should be gradually reduced, rather than stopped abruptly, over weeks. [2021] - Judith R. Davidson

Standard (immediate-release) melatonin can sometimes be useful for the prevention of east-bound jet lag and for certain shift work schedules, and it may be helpful in the short term (up to 1-2 weeks) for sleep difficulty. Immediate-release melatonin is generally not useful for chronic insomnia. [2021] - Judith R. Davidson

L-tryptophan doesn't appear to have troublesome side effects, morning "hangover," or tolerance. It may help induce sleepiness and help some people who have mild difficulty falling asleep and who are otherwise healthy (having no medical or mental health problems). Several studies were done in the 1980s and their results were mixed--sometimes L-tryptophan was better than a placebo and sometimes it wasn't. A published review of research on valerian concluded that it's relatively safe, but not effective for insomnia. The term "natural" product doesn't mean the same thing as safe. Some can have dangerous side effects, for example, kava kava can cause liver toxicity. [2021] - Judith R. Davidson

For more in-depth examination of sleep by scientists or sleep medicine clinicians, special equipment is used to track sleep stages and cycles through the night. To determine sleep stages, three main measurements are used: brain waves, eye movements, and muscle tone. [2021] - Judith R. Davidson

The first generation of wearables (such as Jawbone UP, Fitbit tracker original, Fitbit Ultra, Fitbit Flex, and Misfit Shine) could, using motion sensors, roughly tell when someone was asleep or awake. However, the major problem was that you could be awake--but not moving--in the middle of the night, and the device would classify that as sleep. A new generation of sleep trackers that can record more aspects of your physiology, for example, skin temperature, skin conductance and heart rate. Some may, or will eventually, have the ability to detect changes in the pattern of heart beats, called heart rate variability. Such measures, in combination with motion sensors, could, in the future, potentially improve the identification not only sleep and wakefulness, but also distinguish light sleep (N1 an N2), REM, and deep sleep (N3). At this time, the testing of these devices indicates they're able to detect light sleep and REM but are not so good with deep sleep and wake. [2021] - Judith R. Davidson

There are dozens of alternative nostril breathing techniques. I've started with the most basic. It involves placing an index finger over the left nostril and then inhaling and exhaling only through the right. I did this two dozen times after each meal, to heat up my body and aid my digestion. Before meals, and any other time I wanted to relax, I'd witch sides, repeating the same exercise with my left nostril open. To gain focus and balance the body and mind, I followed a technique called surya bheda pranayama, which involves taking one breath into the right nostril, then exhaling through the left for several sounds. [2020] - James Nestor

How to apply mouth tape, or "sleep type" as it's also called, is a matter of personal preference. Eventually I realized that all I or anyone really needed was a postage-stamp-sized piece of tape at the center of the lips--a Charlie Chaplin mustache moved down an inch. After much trial and error, I settle on 3M Nexcare Durapore "durable cloth" tape, an all-purpose surgical tape with a gentle adhesive. It was comfortable, had no chemical scent, and didn't leave residue. [2020] - James Nestor

The most efficient breathing rhythm occurs when both the length of respirations and total breaths per minute are locked in to a spooky symmetry: 5.5-second inhales followed by 5.5-second exhales, which works out almost exactly to 5.5 breaths a minute. The optimum amount of air we should take in at rest per minute is 5.5 liters. You can practice this perfect breathing for a few minutes, or a few hours. There is no such thing as having too much peak efficiency in your body. [2020] - James Nestor

Slower, longer exhales mean higher carbon dioxide levels. With that bonus carbon dioxide, we gain a higher aerobic endurance. This measurement of highest oxygen consumption, called V̇O₂ max, is the best gauge of cardiorespiratory fitness. Training the body to breathe less actually increases V̇O₂ max, which can not only boost athletic stamina but also help us live longer and healthier lives. [2020] - James Nestor

The first step to improving airway obstruction involves maintaining correct "oral posture". It means holding the lips together, teeth lightly touching, with your tongue on the roof of the mouth. Hold the head up perpendicular to the body and don't kink the neck. When sitting or standing, the spine should form a J-shape--perfectly straight until it reaches the small of the back, where it naturally curves outward. While maintaining this posture, we should always breath slowly through the nose into the abdomen. [2020] - James Nestor

Up to 80% of office workers suffer from something called continuous partial attention. We'll scan our email, write something down, check Twitter, and do it all over again, never really focusing on any specific task. In this state of perpetual distraction, breathing becomes shallow and erratic. Sometimes we won't breathe at all for a half minute or longer. [2020] - James Nestor

Panic, like asthma, is usually preceded by an increase in breathing volume and rate and a decrease in carbon dioxide. To stop the attack before it strikes, breath slower and less, increasing carbon dioxide. This simple and free technique reverses dizziness, shortness of breath, and feeling of suffocation. It can effectively cure a panic attack before the attack comes on. 'Take a deep breath' is not a helpful instruction. Hold your breath is much better.  [2020] - James Nestor

Sudarshan Kriya was developed in the 1980s by a man named Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and is now practiced by tens of millions of people around the world through The Art of Living Foundation. It does much of what Tummo does because both were designed from the same ancient practices. The central method, called Purifying Breath, requires more than 40 minutes of intensive breathing, from huffing and at a rate of more than 100 breaths pre minute, to several minutes of slow breathing, and then hardly breathing at all. Rinse and Repeat. The key to Sudarshan Kriya, Tummo, or any other breathing practice rooted in ancient yoga is to learn to be patient, maintain flexibility, and slowly absorb what breathing has to offer. [2020] - James Nestor