Each of us has a mysterious double life.
For about two thirds of the time, we are conscious beings, think about the world inside and out, and discuss our ways through the obstacles of life. Another third of the time we are near lifeless pieces of flesh, unconscious for everything except our own fantasies, when we lie in bed. We all know that sleep is important for health. But for an activity that consumes about 8 hours of everyday life, people think surprisingly little about the act of sleep or how our culture teaches us to sleep. The behavior of sleep, like all human activity, is determined by our culture.
Sometimes practices taught by our culture can affect how our bodies function. As medical anthropologists, we explore how our cultural practices can affect our health. And we found that the way we were trained to sleep may be one of the most important causes of various diseases that plague our society.
Of course, when you consider the culture of sleep, it includes such things as the duration of sleep and the time of day for sleep. Do you often fight or sleep 8 hours in a row? Do you sleep at night or day?
Other problems concern pajamas. Do you sleep nude or pajamas or underwear? Do you sleep in your underwear? Should the sheets be natural fabrics such as cotton or silk, or polyester well? How about detergents and fabric softeners used in sheets, pillow cases and pj?
If you eat before bed? What is the effect of watching TV before bed? Should you take sleeping pills to help you sleep?
These are some of the culture issues that help determine how we sleep, and all this can have some potential impact on health. However, there is one cultural issue that is on the list of importance and which can significantly determine your health status. It depends on your sleeping position. Are you sleeping on a hard, flat bed, face down, nose and eye pressed to the bed and pillow? Or are you on your back with a slightly raised head, as is the case in many local cultures that use hammocks or other non-flat surfaces for sleeping?
The reason we ask this last question is that the circulation of the head and brain is completely related to your position in your sleep.
We all had time to experience dizziness or lightheadedness when you got out of bed too quickly. This effect is called orthostatic hypotension and is a consequence of the fact that the blood pressure drops when you lie down, and a sudden elevation of the head can temporarily deprive the brain of sufficient arterial pressure, which leads to dizziness or dizziness. Blood pressure soon increases, increasing the blood supply to the brain, as you feel normal again.
This phenomenon shows that the position of the body relative to its severity affects the blood circulation of the head and brain. You can also demonstrate this by doing the head cleaning that many yoga practitioners practice daily. Intracranial pressure increases dramatically as blood rushes into the head, which becomes beetroot, and neck veins swell when blood flows into the venous system.
But in addition to these examples, very little, if anything, is mentioned in the medical physiology textbooks on gravity and its effect on the blood circulation. However, you cannot fully understand the brain circulation without considering gravity.
The effect of gravity on the circulation of the brain is purely mechanical and refers to the position of the head relative to the pumping core. When we stand up, the head is above the heart, so blood must be pumped against gravity - from the heart to the brain - reducing the effective pressure with which arterial blood is delivered to the brain. Meanwhile, the drainage of blood from the brain to the heart is facilitated by the force of gravity.
On the contrary, when we are lying and horizontal, the heart and the head are now on the same plane. This eliminates the effects of gravity on brain circulation. Blood from the heart is pumped heavily into the head without gravity, increasing intracranial pressure. And the blood returning from the brain to the heart should do this without the aid of gravity, causing a reserve of blood in the brain.
Essentially, intracranial pressure increases, and the general circulation of the brain decreases when you lie flat compared to standing up.
Of course, the body is rational and has mechanisms to control brain pressure under various conditions of severity. When the brain receives pressure from lying down, there are various pressure receptors in the head and neck that are designed to lower blood pressure, thereby preventing too much brain pressure and the ability to blow a blood vessel or create a brain aneurysm. That's why blood pressure is lower when we sleep, and horizontally.
But these brain mechanisms for regulating pressure have their limits. As we go through the day in an upright position, gravity tirelessly pulls our bodies down, so many people swell their legs and ankles by the end of the day. As soon as we lie, the effect of gravity is lost, as the liquid leaves the legs and returns to the head. Therefore, please, our brains are normal defense mechanisms, through the night intracranial pressure increases and is highest in the morning, after an hour of lying flat and low at the end of the day, after several hours of vertical.
What happens when intracranial pressure is high from long periods of lying? Increased blood pressure leads to the formation of extra cerebral cerebrospinal fluid in the ventricles of the brain, increasing the intracranial pressure of the fluid. The stomachs swell, and brain cells become orphans in excess fluid, which mainly causes swelling of the brain. This edema reduced the available oxygen and sugar for brain cells. The absence of gravity caused by brain leakage could cause a reserve of blood in the venous system and a collection of sinuses in the brain. The brain circulation would become reliably stable, since the only driving force of blood would be the pushing force of arterial pressure (which decreased significantly after the cerebral circulation) and the sucking power of the heart. right atrium. And in addition to the edema of the brain, the eyes, ears, face, sinuses, gums - the whole head - will be under pressure, and the tissues merge with the liquid!
There is one area of medicine that is eagerly studying this effect of gravity on physiology. This sub-specialty is Cosmic Medicine. Astronauts in space are in a field of zero gravity, and it is known that this causes blood to shift to the head and brain, causing increased brain pressure and accompanying migraines, glaucoma, meninitis disease and other problems associated with under pressure, overloaded brain. To explore the negative effects of zero gravity here on Earth, these astronauts have people lying on the ground! However, since medicine is such a vast area that less and less less and less sub-specialists are studying, little happens between space medicine and Earth-related medicine. Otherwise, someone would understand that the flat is what we do when we sleep. If this causes problems for astronauts, then can it cause problems for everyone else?
We learned about this space exploration, while we conducted our own research on the position of sleep as a possible cause of migraine. We suggested that sleeping too long every night for too long can lead to brain pressure and fluid accumulation (edema) in brain tissue associated with hypoxia and hypoglycemia. The brain cannot function normally without enough oxygen or sugar, and this condition will be in a worse position in the morning when most migraines occur.
While migraines are considered a pathological phenomenon, it is also possible that migraine is a protective mechanism of the brain to receive new blood along with sugar and oxygen. In the end, the only way the brain can get what it needs is blood flow, and during an artery, migraines open up to the head and send blood by force through the brain. Perhaps we argued that migraine is a type of emergency brain flush that replaces old blood with new one. If so, can we prevent migraines, if migraine sufferers sleep, their head is slightly raised?
We tested our theory, with about 100 migraine volunteers, with the heads of their beds raised, from 10-30 degrees. Head height, as we suggested, would improve brain circulation, providing some gravity relief for drainage. Interestingly, we found that Space Medicine researchers found that brain circulation (and heart pumping) is optimal with a 30-degree upper bed.
To our surprise, we found that most of the migraines in our study experienced relief from this simple change in sleep position! Many have not had new migraines after they have suffered from migraines for 30 years or more! The results were very fast, within a few days. And there were very interesting side effects. Our volunteers woke up more wary. Sinus disease in most people has been significantly reduced. Some have reported that they no longer have certain allergies. Can we discover the real purpose and cause of a migraine?
The consequences of these findings were, frankly, amazing for us. So many illnesses are associated with an increase in brain pressure of an “unknown” cause. The position of sleep has never been studied as the cause of this increased pressure. The consequences go far beyond the prevention and treatment of migraine. Any condition associated with brain pressure, which usually worsens in the morning after an overnight horizontal time, can potentially be associated with a problem of severity and sleep.
Keep in mind that the brain is the central nervous system that controls and changes all the functions of the body. If some centers of the brain are overloaded and daily press down, sleep too long for too long, these centers may not work properly. Depending on how a person sleeps, the characteristics of their cerebral circulation and other variables, different people may experience this brain pressure in different ways. For some, the hypothalamic respiratory centers can be particularly overwhelmed, leading to sudden infant death syndrome (which is associated with head and body position during sleep), sleep apnea, or even asthma. It has been shown that sleep apnea can be treated by changing the position of sleep.
Strains are clearly associated with brain pressure and usually occur at night or in the early morning during sleep. This is when the pressure of the brain is the highest.
This mechanism is clearly caused by glaucoma. It is already known that eye pressure increases when the head is lowered, and decreases when the head is up. It is important to note the position of the head when reading the pressure on the eye due to this sensitive connection between intraocular pressure and the position of the head. The pressure on the eyes is also the highest in the early morning. Lifting of the head during sleep should be routine for the treatment and prevention of glaucoma.
Slow eyes and nasal sinuses seem to be associated with pressure on the head. Just as the brain gets extra pressure while lying, the head and face are also under pressure. People with these problems usually find immediate relief from a sleeping increase of 10-30 degrees.
Alzheimer's disease, we believe, may be the ultimate disease caused by chronic brain stasis and pressure from a flat sleep. Alzheimer's brain ventricles expand, indicating a history of ventricular pressure, and generalized lesions along the ventricles may indicate areas of brain tissue that have deteriorated from this chronic pressure. Other studies have already shown that Alzheimer's disease is associated with elevated brain pressure, but the cause is considered unknown, as is the case with almost all brain pressure problems.
It should be noted that the blood-brain barrier cannot function properly under compression. Excessive intracranial pressure can lead to leakage in this barrier by expanding the base membrane, allowing heavy metals, such as aluminum and mercury, as well as viruses and bacteria to enter the brain, which would otherwise be excluded. Perhaps that is why heavy metals are associated with certain brain problems, such as Alzheimer's disease.
It is also known that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is associated with an overload of the “impulse center” in the brain that helps control behavior. We found that several children with ADHD experience a significant improvement in self-control, raising their heads during sleep.
In addition to the position of the head relative to gravity, we also found that sleep or abdominal sleep can create problems. For example, we found several cases of tunnel syndrome associated with sleeping on the hands or wrists, and pain in the shoulder from sleeping on the side. And keep in mind that the pressure in the head increases, and the drainage decreases when the head turns to the side. Sleeping on your back avoids squeezing the limbs and internal organs.
It is also interesting to note that patients with asymmetric problems tend to be worse on the side on which they sleep. For example, eye pathology will be worse in the eyes on the side of the face that slept the most. Ear infections will be worse on the "down" ear. You can also say what a person sleeps while watching the shape of the nose. In addition to injuries, the nose should be symmetrical, but bends from the pillow due to sleep on the side of the face and press the nose for hours every night. The nose will point to the side that most slept.
Men should be told that sleep can lead to testicular compression and possible dysfunction. And women who sleep on the sides or stomach, subjected their breasts to compression and impaired blood circulation. Lateral sleepers may have more chest problems on the side on which they sleep.
We must warn the practitioner, however, that although the effect of raising the head during sleep will be dramatic and transformative for many patients and should be considered essential for disease prevention strategies, the fact is that many people resist changing their sleep behavior. They were conditioned to sleep in a certain way from birth. And even when they want to change their sleep position, it is difficult to enforce when the object is unconscious! To change the behavior of sleep requires tremendous power. But it's worth what people usually see during the week asleep.
We found better ways to lift the head, including using more pillows, using a foam wedge, placing barriers under the legs of the bed frame at the top of the bed, or using an adjustable bed. While the ideal position with a head from 10-30 degrees above, a height of 10 degrees is great for a start. The legs should be slightly raised, and the person should try to stay on his back as much as possible. The ideal position is the one you would have been in if you had remained in the chair of the chair. (Recliners will also be good to use, but they usually give poor support to the lower back.) Also, keep in mind that some people will find one level of height more comfortable than another. People with low blood pressure may need lower heads than patients with high blood pressure. Others may experience discomfort from the neck and shoulder from a new position. However, experimenting with pillows under the arms, under the buttocks (which slide down the bed), and under the legs and feet, the patient must find a convenient solution.
Also, taking into account the history of the disease, be aware that injuries to the neck and stiff muscles of the neck can worsen the venous drainage of the brain by compressing the jugular veins with dense muscles. Neck massage and spinal correction can help improve the overall circulation of the brain. We had several case histories in which there was little or no improvement from the height of the head, but the subjects had a history of neck injuries.
Of course, there will be times when people feel dizzy and have to go to bed to get more blood to the head. It may also be better if people sleep less at night and catch up on sleep during sleep or siesta during the day. This would avoid the extremes of high and low brain pressure. But our culture makes it necessary for most people to do all their sleep at once. After all, sleep is a cultural issue. The point is to be aware of how you feel, and to realize that your body position relative to gravity can be a key factor affecting health and illness.
Мы продолжаем изучать этот эффект силы тяжести и сна на здоровье и поощрять практикующих сообщать своих пациентов. опытом с нами. Мы также очень рекомендуем вам прочитать нашу книгу «Get It Up! Выявление простого удивительного образа жизни, который вызывает мигрень, болезнь Альцгеймера, инсульт, глаукому, апноэ во сне, импотенцию и многое другое! (ISCD Press, 2001), где мы обсуждаем различные последствия этой теории, включая список литературы о мозговом давлении и различных заболеваниях, а также о влиянии силы тяжести на циркуляцию мозга. После того, как вы увидите доказательства, вы, вероятно, будете так же поражены, как и мы, что исследования сна игнорируют этот критический аспект сна.
Спящий слишком плоский каждый день может быть самой большой ошибкой образа жизни, которую люди делают в нашей культуре. Некоторые из самых страшных болезней нашего времени могут быть все в нашей постели!
