Sleep

The Made-up “Real”

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“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.” ~ Albert Einstein

 

“The light of memory, or rather the light that memory lends to things, is the palest light of all. I am not quite sure whether I am dreaming or remembering, whether I have lived my life or dreamed it. Just as dreams do, memory makes me profoundly aware of the unreality, the evanescence of the world, a fleeting image in the moving water.” – Eugene Ionesco
Dreams are purported to be not real. They are thought to be constructions of our nervous system that occur during an altered state of consciousness termed sleep. But, they appear and feel very real. While the dream is in progress we experience it as completely real. Things happen mostly in real time. We visualize people, places, and things in great detail and hear sounds and voices. We even feel emotions. What’s different about a dream in comparison to what we call reality?

 

In actuality, much of what we experience during so called “reality” is not real, but a construction produced by our nervous systems. We experience color in our visual world, but in fact there is nothing in the physical world that has color. Our eyes take in different wavelengths of light, electromagnetic radiation with different distances between peaks. That is all. There is nothing colored here. But our eyes have three different receptors that respond to different ranges of wavelengths. Our brain then interprets the activity of these receptors as different colors. In fact it is a complete illusion. What we think we see and experience is in fact not there.

 

Our everyday thoughts, day dreams, and fantasies we recognize as not a reflection of reality. But nevertheless they constitute a constructed experience. Our brain is completely capable of constructing experiences that are similar to those that we label as “reality.” Could it be that this labelled “reality” is in fact just another constructed experience?

 

The great physiologist and philosopher, Johannes Müller, pointed out that we are not directly aware of the natural world, but rather what we are aware of is the state of our nervous system. In other words, our awareness is simply of what is going on in our nervous system. It is constructed by brain processes. Is this any more real than the dream?

 

It is clear that we can make up experiences and perceive them vividly. The great question then becomes how much is “real” and how much and which ones are mental constructs. This question has had a range of answers from the materialist who suggests that there is objective reality to the Zen master who suggests that there is no reality other than pure being.

 

If all that we are aware of is the state of our nervous system is that, at least, an objective reality? Dreams are produced by internal brain activity that lacks an external referent. These are apparently very “real’ to the dreamer, but most would agree that they are not “real.” Drugs can produce very “real” experiences but most agree that they are not “real.” But are these experiences not just a construct of altered brain activity produced by sleep systems or altered chemistry, respectively? If our sleep systems or altered brain chemistry can produce an untrue “reality” what does this imply about the “reality” produced by our usual brain chemistry? Does it not imply that the nervous system is at best an unstable platform for the expression of “reality” or that our awareness itself does not present to us the “real?”

 

The only thing that we conclusively know to be real is our personal awareness of the immediate moment. Everything else is just a memory or a fantasy. That experienced moment is ever changing, mutating, arising and falling away. It cannot be held onto. So, the only thing that we know to be real is ephemeral, a puff of smoke blown in the wind. But, is this phantasm real or is it created in our awareness? Is it a reflection of an objective reality or a compelling hallucination? Does it have substance beyond experience?

 

We have arrived at the point of concluding that the only “reality” that we can know to be real is an ephemeral experience of a present moment and that even this is perhaps only a continuing experience of the ever changing state of our nervous system that we know is not an accurate depiction of any external physical state of environmental energies. To be sure, this is a very tenuous grasp at something “real.”

 

Doesn’t it make more sense to admit that awareness is the only “reality?” What enters awareness is simply what we experience regardless of its origin. Does it really matter if it is reflective of an external “reality” or simply all made up? It is simply our “reality” and it may not need to be anything more. Seeing it this way, the question becomes irrelevant.

 

 “I’m more convinced each day of the complete unreality of the material world and the supreme vitality of the invisible world of spirit.”- Paul Russo

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

Improve Teacher Well-Being with Mindfulness

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“The connection between mindfulness and education is both natural and fundamentally important, now more than ever.  The difference between a good teacher and a great teacher, it is often that ineffable quality that you know but cannot pin down in words.”  – The Mindful teacher

 

Teaching is a stressful profession causing many to burn out and leave the profession. A recent survey found that roughly half a million U.S. teachers move or leave the profession each year. That’s a turnover rate of about 20 percent compared to 9 percent in 2009. Indeed, anywhere from 40 and 50 percent of teachers will leave the classroom within their first five years, with over nine percent leaving before the end of their first year.

 

The high stress of the occupation shows up in higher rates of anxiety disorders, but particularly in physical ailments, with higher rates of laryngitis, conjunctivitis, lower urinary tract infections, bronchitis, eczema/dermatitis and varicose veins in female teachers. There is a pressing need to retain good teachers. So, it has become very important to identify means to help relieve the stress and lower burnout rates.

 

Mindfulness has been shown repeatedly to decrease physiological and psychological responses to stress (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/07/17/destress-with-mindfulness/ and http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/category/research-news/stress/). Mindfulness has also been shown to help improve performance and relieve stress in students (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/08/08/building-a-better-adult-with-elementary-school-mindfulness-training/ and http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/09/04/go-to-college-with-mindfulness/). In addition, mindfulness has been shown to decrease burnout in the medical profession (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/08/10/burnout-burnout-with-mindfulness/). So, it would seem reasonable to suspect that mindfulness training would help teachers to reduce stress, the consequent physical symptoms, and burnout.

 

In today’s Research News article “The Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on Educator Stress and Well-Being: Results from a Pilot Study”

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1118695004821091/?type=3&theater

Frank and colleagues investigate the effectiveness of a mindfulness -based stress reduction (MBSR) program to improve high school teacher stress and well-being. They found that MBSR produced significant improvement in emotion regulation, self-kindness, mindfulness, overall self-compassion, and sleep quality in comparison to a no-treatment control group.

 

Hence it appears that MBSR is effective in improving well-being and reducing stress in high school teachers. Of course, more research is needed particularly with randomly assigned active control conditions and long term follow-up. But, these results are very promising. Given the importance of education to the well-being of our entire society, helping to relieve the problems experienced by teachers has to be a high priority.

 

This as well as research with students points to a development of a total mindful environment in education, where both students and teachers are trained in mindfulness and mindfulness practice is incorporated in the school day. The research suggests that this could have a major positive effect on education.

 

So, teach and learn with mindfulness

 

“I had decided that this would be my last year teaching until the mindfulness program began at my school. Now I am rededicated to my profession.” – Teacher, East Oakland

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

Go to College with Mindfulness

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Many people have fond memories of their college years. It is likely, however, that they forgot about the stress and angst of those years. The truth is that college is generally very stressful for most students, from the uncertainty of freshman year, to the social stresses of emerging adulthood, to the anxiety of launching into a career after senior year. Evidence for the difficulties of these years can be found in college counseling centers which are swamped with troubled students. In fact, it’s been estimated that half of all college students report significant levels of anxiety and depression.

To make matters worse, many college students do not get sufficient sleep. In one study only 11% of college students reported getting sufficient sleep while 73% reported sleep problems. In another study it was found that about 27% of college students have overt sleep disorders such as narcolepsy or insomnia. These sleep problems are associated with lower grades. Many students attempt to combat this problem with heavy use of legal and illegal stimulants which further disrupt sleep and produce other problematic side effects..

So, it is important to find a safe and effective way to reduce stress, depression and anxiety and promote sleep in college students. Mindfulness training has been shown to reduce anxiety and stress http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/07/29/get-your-calm-on/ and to reduce depression http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/08/04/get-out-of-the-dumps-with-loving-kindness-meditation/. In addition, it has been shown to improve sleep quality http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/07/17/mindfulness-is-a-snooze/. So, mindfulness training would appear to be well suited to deal with the problems of college students.

In today’s Research News article “A Randomized Controlled Trial of Koru: A Mindfulness Program for College Students and Other Emerging Adults”

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1082437775113481/?type=1&theater

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4016159/

Greeson and colleagues test the effectiveness of a mindful meditation program with college students. The found that the student who participated in four 75-min meditation training sessions reported lower perceived stress and fewer sleep problems while having higher levels of mindfulness and self-compassion. When the wait-list control group was later provided with the meditation training, they evidenced the same improvements.

The improved sleep quality was positively associated with increased levels of mindfulness and self-compassion. In turn, the improved self-compassion after meditation training involved increased kindness toward both themselves and humanity in general, and decreased self-judgment, social isolation, and a lower tendency to over-identify with their problems. All of these changes after meditation training had moderate to large effect sizes which suggests that the training effects are of sufficient magnitude to be clinically useful.

These are exciting findings. A simple, relatively brief training is shown to be a safe and effective method to address the stress, mood problems, and sleep disturbance occurring in college students. This, if implemented widely, could greatly improve both the college experience and academic performance.

So, go to college with mindfulness. It will produce even fonder memories of the college years.

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

Age Healthily – Sleep better with Meditation

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Aging brings a myriad of physical and mental changes including altered amounts and patterns of sleep. Older people have the same sleep needs as when they were younger but they have more difficulty falling and staying asleep and do not sleep as deeply. In addition, aging individuals wake more often during sleep, tend to go to sleep and wake earlier than when they were younger. There is also an increase in sleep disorders, including insomnia and 44% of the elderly report at least occasional problems with insomnia.

Sleep problems are more than just an irritant. Sleep deprivation is associated with decreased alertness and a consequent reduction in performance of even simple tasks, increased difficulties with memory and problem solving, decreases quality of life, increase likelihood of accidental injury including automobile accidents, and increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. It also places stress on relationships, affecting the sleep of the older individuals sleep partner.

Hence, it is clear that getting a good night’s sleep is important for everyone. But for the elderly it’s more difficult to get it. So, anything that could assist older people to sleep better would help the individual to age healthier with a better quality of life. Mindfulness has been found to be associated with healthy aging (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/07/17/age-healthily-mindfulness/).

Mindfulness can also be helpful with sleep problems. Indeed, meditation has been shown to be effective for the treatment of insomnia in adults (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/07/17/mindfulness-is-a-snooze/). But, the elderly are different and it is not known if meditation might also help them to sleep better.

In today’s Research News article “Mindfulness Meditation and Improvement in Sleep Quality and Daytime Impairment among Older Adults with Sleep Disturbances: A Randomized Clinical Trial”

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1080339028656689/?type=1&theater

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4407465/

Black and colleagues demonstrate that meditation can improve sleep quality in people over 55 years of age. They found that meditation increased the quality of sleep and the degree of improvement was related to the degree of increase in mindfulness produced. Meditation also resulted in less insomnia, fatigue, anxiety, and depression and less interference in daily living produced by fatigue. These findings are very exciting and suggest that meditation may be an effective intervention to improve sleep in the elderly.

Sleep problems are associated with a high level of physiological arousal. Meditation has been shown to reduce the hormonal and neural systems that underlie arousal and reduces responses to stress (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/07/17/destress-with-mindfulness/). This could be one mechanism by which meditation improves sleep. Also sleep disturbance is often associated with psychological issues such as anxiety, depression, worry and rumination. Meditation is also known to reduce these processes. Indeed, Black and colleagues demonstrated reductions in depression with meditation in older individuals (see also http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/07/17/dealing-with-major-depression-when-drugs-fail/) and mindfulness is known to reduce anxiety (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/07/17/the-mindfulness-cure-for-social-anxiety/) and worry (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/07/17/stop-worrying/)  This may be another potential mechanism by which mindfulness improves sleep.

Regardless of the mechanism, it is clear that meditation improves sleep in older individuals. Since meditation is relatively safe and easy to perform and has become more and more common and acceptable in modern western cultures, it would seem to be an ideal solution to the sleep problems of the elderly.

So, meditate and sleep better as you age.

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

Age Healthily – Treating Insomnia and Inflammation

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Disturbance of sleep is common in the elderly. It directly produces impairments in daily activities. But, it also increases the risk for chronic disease and mortality in older adults. In particular insomnia appears to increase inflammation. Heightened markers of inflammations are associated with cardiovascular disease and diabetes and autoimmune diseases such as arthritis. In fact, inflammation is either directly or indirectly involved in nearly all diseases.

Chronic inflammation is the real problem. On the short term inflammation can be helpful in fighting off initial infection. But, if it continues over a prolonged period of time it can produce or exacerbate many health conditions. Since sleep disturbance in the elderly tends to be chronic and it increases inflammation it can be very detrimental to the individual’s health and thereby can increase mortality.

Obviously, it is important to the elderly to routinely get a good night’s sleep.  In a previous post we discussed how insomnia affects older adults and contributes to decline in aging http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/07/17/aging-healthily-sleeping-better-with-mindful-movement-practice/

In this post we reported that mindful movement practices such as Tai Chi was effective for the treatment of insomnia in the elderly. This study, however, did not compare mindful movements to other potential treatments and did not measure inflammation.

In today’s Research News article “Cognitive Behavioral Therapy vs. Tai Chi for Late Life Insomnia and Inflammatory Risk: A Randomized Controlled Comparative Efficacy Trial”

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1063704673653458/?type=1&theater

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4153053/

Irwin and colleagues demonstrated that indeed Tai Chi was effective for insomnia in older adults but that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) was far superior, producing remission from insomnia in over half the participants treated with CBT compared to 30% for Tai Chi.

Importantly, Irwin and colleagues demonstrated that a marker of inflammation, C-reactive protein (CRP), was markedly reduced. CBT cut in half the proportion of participants with high inflammatory responses. In addition, the participants who had remission of insomnia had CRP levels that were nearly 50% lower. This is remarkable and indicates that CBT is highly effective in reducing not only insomnia but also the inflammatory response that frequently accompanies it. tai chi was also effective, but not to the same extent.

Although tai chi was not as effective as CBT it has marked advantages. CBT requires a formal treatment program with a trained therapist. This can be costly and inconvenient. Tai chi on the other hand can be engaged in without a therapist, at the convenience of the individual, and at virtually no cost. So, although CBT is superior in effectiveness, tai chi might be a better, more practical, alternative for many elderly.

So, it is important to treat insomnia in the elderly for their health and wellbeing. If practical choose Cognitive Behavioral Therapy but if that isn’t practical engage in tai chi practice.

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

Aging Healthily – Sleeping better with Mindful Movement Practice

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“Sleep is that golden chain that ties health and our bodies together.” – Thomas Dekker

As the quote implies sleep is important to our health and wellbeing. We are able to deal effectively with occasional sleep loss, but when the loss is chronic over a period of time, the sleep loss can markedly impair our health. It can lead to serious conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity. It can also weaken the immune system, making us more vulnerable to infectious diseases.

Chronic sleep loss also affects us psychologically. It tends to impair our mood and our ability to control our emotions. Sleep loss impairs our cognitive ability and memory and even our sex lives. It can make us more accident prone and increase chronic pain levels. Needless to say, getting a good night’s sleep on a regular basis is important.

Unfortunately as we age it becomes more and more difficult to get that good night’s sleep. Although the need for sleep doesn’t change with age sleep patterns change.  Older people have a more difficult time falling asleep and staying asleep, waking up several times during the night, and waking early in the morning. In addition, there is less deep sleep, so we don’t feel as rested. Insomnia is much higher in older adults affecting as many as 44%.

A safe and effective means for improving sleep in the elderly is important for the health and wellbeing of this vulnerable population. As a result the news that a simple, safe, ancient practice of mindful movement, including tai chi and qigong, may help improve sleep in the elderly is exciting. In today’s Research News article “The Effect of a Meditative Movement Intervention on Quality of Sleep in the Elderly: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis”

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1052552184768707/?type=1&theater

Wu and colleagues summarized the research on mindful movement and sleep in the elderly and found that a three times per week practice significantly improved sleep quality in older adults.

In an upcoming post “Age Healthily – Tai Chi” tai chi practice was shown to help to slow cognitive decline with aging. These findings may be linked to the current findings as sleep loss is known to be associated with cognitive decline.

So, practice tai chi or qigong and age healthily by sleeping better

CMCS

 

Mindfulness is a Snooze!

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Contemplative practice has many effects on the mind and body, including alterations of sleep. Today’s Research News “A Randomized Controlled Trial of Mindfulness Meditation for Chronic Insomnia.”  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4153063/pdf/aasm.37.9.1553.pdf

provides empirical evidence of the effectiveness of a mindfulness based therapy in treating insomnia.

But, how can mindfulness practice that occurs in the awake state carry over to affect the sleep state? It appears to work psychologically and also physically.

A common symptom of insomniacs is a waking psychophysiological arousal. That is the individual is in a perpetual state of heightened alertness with higher heart rate, blood pressure etc. This makes it difficult to relax to go to sleep. Mindfulness training is known to induce a state of reduced arousal. Hence, by reducing physiological arousal mindfulness training makes it easier to relax and go to sleep.

On the psychological side rumination about the past or anxiety regarding the future can interfere with sleep. Mindfulness training is known to reduce both. Worries about the past tend to subside when the individual becomes more oriented to the present moment. This is also the case for anxiety and fear about the future. So, mindfulness training tends to reduce these psychological inhibitors of sleep onset.

Finally, insomnia can lead to anxiety about sleep itself. This is stressful and can produce even more anxiety about being able to sleep. This can become a vicious cycle, where not being able to sleep induces anxiety and stress about going to sleep which in turn makes it harder to go to sleep which reinforces the anxiety and on and on. Mindfulness training appears to reduce the anxiety, breaking the cycle, making it easier to go to sleep which then further reduces the anxiety.

So, practice mindfulness even though it’s a snooze!

CMCS