Sleep, Insomnia, Brain Oxygen Levels and Breathing

Effects of over breathing on brain oxygen levels About 10% of Western people suffer from chronic insomnia (Roth T, Roehrs, 2003; Pigeon, 2010) and many more have mild sleeping problems. What are the causes? Over 90% of modern normal people are heavy breathers (see the links with dozens of studies below). Sick people breathe even more, as over 50 medical studies testify. This relates to people with heart disease, cancer, diabetes, asthma, COPD, and many other chronic disorders.

As a result, abnormal or ineffective breathing is a key factor that causes insomnia and long sleep since hyperventilation reduces brain O2 and CO2 contents.

Clinical observations of Russian MDs resulted in this Table that links body and brain oxygen levels with sleep quality and duration.

Sleep quality and duration for
different automatic breathing patterns

Respiratory Frequency	Body oxygen test result	Duration of sleep	Quality of sleep
>26 breaths/min	<10 s	Often >10 hours	Often very poor
15-26 breaths/min	10-20 s	Often >9 hours	Often poor
12-20 breaths/min	20-40 s	6-8 hours	Insomnia possible
7-12 breaths/min	40-80 s	4 hours	Excellent
5 breaths/min	2 min	3 hours	Excellent
3 breaths/min	3 min	2 hours	Excellent

Woman sleeping in peace How can we improve sleep quality and stop insomnia? First let us consider this question: Why do we need sleep? Common sense tells us that we need it to provide rest for the brain and muscles. We know that deep breathing makes the brain over-excited (since CO2 is a natural sedative of nerve cells) and muscles tense (since carbon dioxide is a relaxant of muscles). For example, neurological research suggests that hyperventilation "leads to spontaneous and asynchronous firing of cortical neurons" (Huttunen et al, 1999). Do you need any spontaneous and asynchronous signals or thoughts when you go to sleep?

CO2 model above ocean Hence, CO2 deficiency should affect the quality of our sleep due to these effects. In addition, brain hypocapnia naturally causes brain hypoxia (reduced oxygen content in brain cells). Here are some general practical observations about unconscious breathing patterns and the quality of sleep.

Healthy people have normal breathing at rest (see medical studies from the web page Breathing in Healthy). A person with normal breathing (10-12 breaths per minute at rest, 4-6 L/min for minute ventilation, and with about 40-60 s for the body oxygen level):
- falls asleep in less than 1 minute;
- sleeps for about 4-5 hours, with very quiet, light and peaceful breathing, and he or she can stay in the same sleep position the whole night;
- does not remember dreams and does not have nightmares;
- awakes feeling refreshed and full of energy and vigor with a morning CP of about 60 or more seconds.

Young man sleeps with mouth open; tissues around Modern people breathe about 12 L/min and have less CO2 and O2 in body cells. Their body oxygen level is about 15-25 s and breathing frequency at rest is up to 18-25 breaths per minute. Such person:
- may need more time to fall asleep (up to 5-30 minutes or more);
- can sleep up to 7-9 hours and in different positions;
- can remember dreams and may have nightmares;
- wakes up feeling tired, often with about 10 seconds CP due to morning hyperventilation.

Why? During the previous day and night, this individual has had chronically low tissue stores of O2 and CO2 due to an ineffective breathing pattern. The muscles were tense, instead of naturally relaxed, and the brain hypoxic and over-excited, instead of calm. Even during sleep, the brain, due to hyperventilation, remained abnormally excited (remember “spontaneous and asynchronous firing of cortical neurons”?) and hypoxic. Hence, most people will suffer from some degree of insomnia and cannot sleep less than 7-8 hours due to their ineffective breathing pattern.

Young man sleeping on his back and Death nearby Consider severely sick, terminally ill or hospitalized patients with a typical CP of about 5-10 s or even less. These people:
- may need even more time to fall asleep (up to 30 minutes or more);
- can sleep up to 12-15 hours tossing and turning in bed;
- can remember many dreams and often have nightmares;
- awaken feeling tired and sluggish.

Their quality of sleep is often miserable. Why? It is because these people, due to severe chronic hyperventilation, have critically low oxygenation and CO2 values due to their heavy breathing pattern. They are chronically very tense and over-excited. Their muscles and brain need much more time to rest and relax, and these people often suffer from severe sleeping problems or insomnia. However, this is difficult or impossible, since O2 and CO2 stores are critically low during the night as well. (In fact, severely sick patients are most likely to die during ... sleep. See Sleep Heavy Breathing Effect medical research summary.)

Young confident man standing straight MDs smiling Some people (Dr. KP Buteyko, some Russian Buteyko doctors, Western Buteyko practitioners and students, and hatha yoga masters) have/had very light or ideal breathing (about 3 L/min for ventilation) with 2-3 minutes for the CP (body oxygen level). Such people need only about 2 hours of perfect and short sleep during the night. They simply cannot sleep longer even if they try. Why? High CO2 concentrations keep the muscles relaxed and the brain calm throughout the day and night. Normally these people do not need much sleep at all, since they are resting even while they work! (See the picture on the right.)

Note that there are people who may have only 5-10 s CP and have no problems or complaints about sleep. Occasionally, some people may have 30-35 s CP and still be concerned or unhappy about their quality of sleep. However, all these cases are exceptions rather than the rule. It can be of important practical and scientific value to find out the exact biochemical, neurological and psychological links between breathing and quality of sleep. Why do most people have problems with sleep when they breathe more? Why are some people less affected?

Now we know the answer to the question "How to sleep less naturally?" We should retrain our automatic breathing breathing so that we breathe less and have more oxygen in body cells.

Be observant. If you know the CPs of your friends and relatives, investigate, if possible, whether this general correlation between the CP and quality of sleep is correct for them. Also, check, if it works for you on different days (your CP and sleep quality can vary from day to day due to diseases, infections, exercise, stress, etc.).

Warning. Remember that CP measurements are done until the first desire to breathe. Your health and quality of sleep would not be better if you push yourself to get higher numbers. In fact, if you later gasp for air, your breathing can become even worse. It is how you breathe twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week that matter.

Questions - Who would survive longer in the jungle or wild forests, or in other natural conditions: those who have CPs of 15-20 s seconds and need to sleep up to 7-9 hours (with tossing, snoring, wheezing, panting) or those with CPs of 2-3 min, who need only 2 hours of noiseless sleep (or much less sleep) in the same body position? (Note that conditions in the wild normally imply the presence of ever hungry predators.) What were the CPs of primitive people? What can be said about their health, and their physical and psychological well-being? Is there a case for saying that primitive people did not suffer from many modern diseases and slept better?

Click on the picture (on the right side) to watch the video clip "Breathing and quality of life" (it will open in a new window). The video also discusses the link between basal breathing patterns and the duration of sleep (how to sleep less naturally).

Conclusion: You can sleep less and better, if you change your unconscious basal breathing pattern so as to have more oxygen and CO2 in the body. Learning Buteyko Breathing Exercises.

Related web pages
How to Fall Asleep Fast - Solution for insomnia and sleeplessness, try this simple breathing technique
How to Sleep Less - What is the link between breathing rates and duration of sleep? Here is the Table from this web page:

Reference Web Pages: Breathing norms, Medical Graphs and Tables about Breathing Rates (Minute Ventilation) and Body Oxygen in Healthy, Normal and Sick People
Breathing norms Parameters, graph, and description of the normal breathing pattern
6 breathing myths 6 myths about breathing and body oxygenation (prevalence: over 90%)
Hyperventilation Definitions of hyperventilation: their advantages and weak points
Hyperventilation Syndrome in the Sick. Table 1. Western scientific evidence about prevalence of CHV (chronic hyperventilation) in patients with various chronic conditions (34 medical studies)
Normal Minute Ventilation in Healthy Subjects: Easy and Light Breathing (14 Studies)
Hyperventilation Prevalence Present in Over 90% of Normal People (24 medical publications)
HV and hypoxia How and why deep breathing reduces oxygenation of cells and tissues of all vital organs
Body oxygen test How to measure your own breathing and body oxygenation (a simple DIY test)
Body oxygen in healthy Table 4. CP (body oxygen level) in healthy people (27 medical studies)
Body oxygen in sick Table 5. CP (body oxygen level) in sick people (14 medical studies)
Buteyko Table of Health Zones with clinical description of most common zones
Morning HV Morning hyperventilation effect or how and why critically ill people are most likely to die during early morning hours

References: CO2 Effects Web Pages
Vasodilation: CO2 expands arteries and arterioles facilitating perfusion (or blood supply) to all vital organs
The Bohr effect How and why oxygen is released by red blood cells in tissues
Cell Oxygen Levels and oxygen transport are controlled by alveolar CO2 and breathing
Oxygen Transport depends on breathing and these two effects (Vasoconstriction-Vasodilation and the Bohr effect) are parts of two diagrams that summarize influences of hypocapnia (low CO2 content in the blood and cells) on circulation and O2 delivery
Free Radical Generation takes place due to anaerobic cell respiration caused by cell hypoxia. Hence, antioxidant defenses of the human body are also regulated by CO2 and breathing
Inflammatory Response is controlled by breathing since hypoxia leads to or intensifies chronic inflammation through over-expression of the hypoxia-inducible factor 1, while normal breathing reduces these processes
Nerve stabilization takes place due to calmative or sedative effects of carbon dioxide in neurons or nerve cells
Muscle relaxation or relaxation of muscle cells is normal at high CO2, while hypocapnia causes muscular tension, poor posture and, sometimes, aggression and violence
Brochodilation - dilation of airways (bronchi and bronchioles) by carbon dioxide, and their constriction due to hypocapnia
CO2: Best Natural Cough Suppressant and "home remedy" since it calms urge-to-cough nerve receptors located in the tracheobronchial tree and larynx
Blood pH regulation and regulation of other bodily fluids
CO2: Lung Damage Healer: Elevated carbon dioxide prevents injury and promotes healing of lung tissues
CO2: Skin and Tissue Healer
Synthesis of Glutamine in the Brain, CO2 fixation, and other chemical reactions
CO2 myth "CO2 is a toxic waste gas" myth
Breathing control How is our breathing regulated? Why hypocapnia makes breathing uneven and erratic?

References
Huttunen J, Tolvanen H, Heinonen E, Voipio J, Wikstrom H, Ilmoniemi RJ, Hari R, Kaila K, Effects of voluntary hyperventilation on cortical sensory responses. Electroencephalographic and magnetoencephalographic studies, Exp Brain Res 1999, 125(3): p. 248-254.
Pigeon WR, Diagnosis, prevalence, pathways, consequences & treatment of insomnia, Indian J Med Res. 2010 Feb;131:321-32.
Roth T, Roehrs T, Insomnia: epidemiology, characteristics, and consequences, Clin Cornerstone, 2003;5(3):5-15.

HTML Comment Box is loading comments...

Sleep, Insomnia, Brain Oxygen Levels and Breathing

Sleep quality and duration for different automatic breathing patterns

Sleep quality and duration for
different automatic breathing patterns