Check out this independent study that was done by NBC News on Speed Sleep. They hook up a person to an electroencephalogram (EEG) which measures and records the electrical activity of your brain.

What is amazing from the study is that they show how in just 17 minutes the person had reached stage 2 which is ideal for a power nap. This was with a person who is listening to Speed Sleep for the very first time with wires hooked to their head!

Speed Sleep is designed to take you down quicker and deeper with repeated uses. So the results shown will only improve. Also they used the “Nap Track” which is intended to awaken you to an alert and motivated state (which you see happen in the study). There is a “Nightly Sleep Track” on the cd which they did not use that allows you to continue deeper to sleep and awaken naturally in the morning.

A great study showing that speed sleep works!

According to new research in the June 30 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, during the initial stages of sleep, energy levels increase dramatically in brain regions found to be active during waking hours,These results suggest that a surge of cellular energy may replenish brain processes needed to function normally while awake.

A good night’s rest has clear restorative benefits, but evidence of the actual biological processes that occur during sleep has been elusive.  Studies now show that brain energy levels are key to nightly restoration.

The findings support in biology the basic understanding of the function of sleep. It is somewhat surprising that until now there have been no modern-era studies of brain energy using todays most sensitive measurements.

The studies conclude that sleep is necessary for this energy surge, as keeping awake prevented the surge. The energy increase may then power restorative processes absent during wakefulness, because brain cells consume large amounts of energy just performing daily waking functions.

“This research provides intriguing evidence that a sleep-dependent energy surge is needed to facilitate the restorative biosynthetic processes,” said Robert Greene, MD, PhD, of the University of Texas Southwestern, a sleep expert who was unaffiliated with the study.

This research is aligned with theresults seen from the use of Speed Sleep.  Speed Sleep was specifically designed to deepen sleep and allow access to this research proven restorative process.

Every day, millions of travelers struggle against one of the most common sleep disorders — jet lag. For years, jet lag was considered merely a state of mind. Now, studies have shown that the condition actually results from an imbalance in our body’s natural “biological clock” caused by traveling to different time zones. Basically, our bodies work on a 24-hour cycle called “circadian rhythms.” These rhythms are measured by the distinct rise and fall of body temperature, plasma levels of certain hormones and other biological conditions. All of these are influenced by our exposure to sunlight and help determine when we sleep and when we wake.

When traveling to a new time zone, our circadian rhythms are slow to adjust and remain on their original biological schedule for several days. This results in our bodies telling us it is time to sleep, when it’s actually the middle of the afternoon, or it makes us want to stay awake when it is late at night. This experience is known as jet lag.

Some simple behavioral adjustments before, during and after arrival at your destination can help minimize some of the side effects of jet lag.

• Select a flight that allows early evening arrival and stay up until 10 p.m. local time. (If you must sleep during the day, take a short nap in the early afternoon, but no longer than 30 minutes. Set an alarm to be sure not to over sleep.)
• Anticipate the time change for trips by getting up and going to bed earlier several days prior to an eastward trip and later for a westward trip.
• Upon boarding the plane, change your watch to the destination time zone.
• Avoid alcohol or caffeine at least three to four hours before bedtime. Both act as “stimulants” and prevent sleep.
• Upon arrival at a destination, avoid heavy meals (a snack—not chocolate—is okay).
• Avoid any heavy exercise close to bedtime. (Light exercise earlier in the day is fine.)
• Bring earplugs and blindfolds to help dampen noise and block out unwanted light while sleeping.
• Try to get outside in the sunlight whenever possible. Daylight is a powerful stimulant for regulating the biological clock. (Staying indoors worsens jet lag.)
• Contrary to popular belief, the type of foods we eat have no effect on minimizing jet lag.

According to experts, stress or the potential for stress is another problem that can lead to sleeplessness. Two common travel related stress conditions are the “First Night Effect” and the “On-Call Effect.” The first condition occurs when trying to sleep in a new or unfamiliar environment. The second is caused by the nagging worry that something just might wake you up, such as the possibility of a phone ringing, hallway noise or another disruption.

Try these tips on you next trip to help avoid travel-related stress and subsequent sleeplessness.

• Check with the hotel to see if voice mail services are available to guests. Then, whenever possible, have your calls handled by the service.
• Check your room for potential sleep disturbances that may be avoided; e.g., light shining through the drapes, unwanted in-room noise, etc.
• Utilize music, ambient noise machines, or even better “Sleep Recordings” in the hotel room to create a familiar pattern for sleep.
• Request two wake-up calls in case you miss the first one.

A small, yet extremely beneficial study surrounding the immune system and sleep has provided the medical world with some great results.  It turns out that the immune system becomes more active during sleep, which translates into a better defense for fighting off bacteria and viruses that may attack during the late hours.
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Staying up late at night to catch the end of ESPN’s Sportcenter may not be such a great thing for your health.  According to Yu Misao, MD, of the Misao Health Clinic in Gifu, Japan, the fewer hours of sleep that men get at night translate into a higher BMI, blood pressure, and triglyceride levels.  The solution to this sleeping problem trickles down to paying more attention to bed times and the general quality of sleep.
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Sleep aids and sleeping problems are the usual topics that we like to tackle in our blog posts.  We feel that the more sleep awareness that we provide for our readers, the more knowledge they will have about the benefits and risks that sleeping produces for the body.  Last week, we blogged about the possible connection between sleeping and diabetes and apparently one of our readers had a deep personal connection with blog post.
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The saying: “It takes two to make a thing go right”, certainly does not apply to combining sleep with alcohol.  The act of sleeping is still generally considered to be unknown to the scientific world.  Research has discovered that the deprivation of sleep has negative effects on the human body, but it is still scientifically unclear why sleep is considered beneficial to humans. 
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The late night munchies always seem to strike people just before they turn off the lights to go to sleep.  Though it may seem like a good idea to fulfill your taste bud’s demands, try to stay away from this temptation at all costs.  Eating just before going to bed is not only unhealthy, it affects the overall quality of sleep.  If eating before going to bed turns into a constant trend, an unhealthy life style due to the lack of sleep will most likely follow.
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Who would have thought that by simply getting the proper amount of sleep, people could lose weight?  That’s the buzz on the Today Show’s segment titled “Take It Off Today”.
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The question, “Why does the body need sleep?” is still scientifically not answered.  Its an obvious answer to say that the body needs sleep, but why?  Why can’t the body just continue to function without rest? A study involving mice discovered that the brain requires rest, but a different type of unknown function triggers the need for sleep.
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