How to Sleep Less and Better Naturally

Warning. Most natural and often medical websites claim that the human body repairs itself during sleep. However, dozens of medical studies, as well as clinical observations, testify that sick people are most likely to die from 4 to 7 am due to heart attacks, strokes, seizures, exacerbations of asthma and COPD, and many other conditions (see the summary of these studies here: Sleep Heavy Breathing Effect). It is also true that over 90% of people have lowest body oxygen levels during early morning hours. Therefore, do not get fooled by those people who advice to sleep more and feel better about sleep. Your health will get worse and worse if your body oxygen drops during sleep.

Woman sleeping Ancient hatha yoga manuscripts claim that yoga masters (with over 3 min for the body oxygen test) sleep naturally for 2 hours only. Now we can suggest a scientific explanation to this effect since hatha yoga training is based on slowing down or calming the breath (see Yoga pages).

Low oxygen and CO2 levels in brain cells are the key causes of insomnia and problems with sleep. If you try breathing more air (voluntary hyperventilation), you will get less oxygen in the brain. In addition, low CO2 will make nerve cells overexcited and prevent you sleep. Effects of overbreathing on brain oxygen levels

If you calm down you breathing, you will fall asleep faster. There is even a simple breathing exercise "How to Fall Asleep Faster" (see the link to this exercise below).

This table below is based on clinical experience of about two hundred of Russian doctors teaching the Buteyko breathing method. They have taught thousands of people to increase their body oxygen levels using breathing retraining exercises and lifestyle changes.

My practical observations with hundreds of my students agree with these general observations: slower breathing and higher body oxygen levels naturally reduce duration of sleep and improve its quality.

MDs smiling

With over 40 s for the body oxygen test (CP test), people have excellent sleep quality. Slower and lighter automatic breathing (24/7) increases brain oxygenation and CO2 levels in the brain and nerve cells. Since CO2 is a powerful sedative or calming agent of the nerve cells, relative hypercapnia calms down the nerve cells and allows better sleep.

Vice versa, chronic hyperventilation or overbreathing causes hypocapnia and cell hypoxia worsening quality of sleep and making it longer.

Here is a Table from Good Sleep Hygiene Guide

Practical suggestions: how to sleep less and better naturally

Parameters	Actions
Allergic reactions during the day	Avoided
Time spent outdoors	Up to 2-5 hours daily
Physical exercise with strictly nose breathing (in and out)	Up to 1-3 hours daily
What to do before sleep	Walk for 15-20 min outdoors or even light jogging: 15-20 min breathing exercises; have a meal earlier; cold shower; correct posture
When to go to sleep	When really sleepy
Type of materials that are in touch with skin during sleep	Natural (cotton, hemp, wool, ...)
Air quality in the bedroom	Excellent
Thermoregulation	Current CP<20 s: feeling normal or little warm during sleep Current CP>20 s: feeling little on the cold side during sleep
Surface of the bed	Hard (the same as when 2 thin blanket layers are lying on a hard surface)
Sleep positions	Sitting, prone, left side
What to do to fall asleep	Buteyko reduced breathing exercise
What to do if no sleep for more than 10 min	Get out of the bed, go for a walk outdoors or do a breathing session
What to do in the morning	Get out of the bed
What to do during the day in case of mild sleep deprivation	Get a short nap (e.g., 5-20 min) sitting (e.g., in an armchair)
What to do during the day in case of severe sleep deprivation	Try to sleep sitting, if possible for as long as the body needs with all correct rules

Man sleeping with less clothing Hence, in order to sleep less naturally and without any negative effects on the nervous system, one can learn how to breathe slower and less 24/7.

Related web pages
How to Sleep Less and Better Naturally (Prevent Insomnia and Sleep Problems) - YouTube video
Stop Insomnia, Improve Sleep Quality, with Correct Breathing
How to Fall Asleep Fast Breathing Exercise
Best Sleep Positions - Medical Summary with over 20 studies quoted

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?

HTML Comment Box is loading comments...

Or go back to Diseases