Posted by laima on December 28, 2006, at 9:45:27
In reply to Re: Alpha wave intrusion - sleep meds?, posted by elanor roosevelt on December 27, 2006, at 22:26:01
Yes, sleep meds and benzos are effective for making one fall asleep, BUT they mess up "sleep architecture". A normal sleep cycle consists of certain proportions of light stages 1 and 2, deep 3 and 4, and REM. Brain waves are different during the different stages, and sleep experts say that the deep stages are crucial for feeling well rested and healthy. A person should cycle through the stages several times during a night. With benzo or sleep med, the stages 3 and 4 are lopped short. The person is still asleep, but they spend far more time in 1 and 2 than in 3-4. That's not so good, particularly long-term. That's why we wonder what sort of med or other intervention might increase the slow wave stages. Ambien, et al don't do that, they cut these stages short.
poster:laima
thread:716712
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20061224/msgs/716898.html