[Sleep Specialist Malaysia] Brain waves predict our risk for insomnia

There may not yet be a cure for insomnia, but Concordia University researchers are a step closer to predicting who is most likely to suffer from it—just in time for World Sleep Day on March 13.

In his study published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, Thien Thanh Dang-Vu, from Concordia's Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology and PERFORM Center, explores the impact of stress on sleep. Although researchers already know that stressful events can trigger insomnia, the experiment reveals that some people are more vulnerable than others to developing the condition.

To determine the role of stress, the study examined the sleep cycles of 12 Concordia students as they went through the nerve-racking experience of finals. Measuring students' brain waves at the beginning of the school semester, Dang-Vu and his team found that students showing a lower amount of a particular pattern of brain waves were more at risk for developing insomnia afterwards in response to the stress of the exams.

The brain—specifically the deep, inner parts of the brain called the thalamus and cortex—produces electromagnetic activity during sleep. When monitored by diagnostic tools, this activity appears as patterns of squiggly lines that scientists refer to as spindles.

In a previous experiment, Dang-Vu and his team discovered that greater spindle activity helps sleepers resist waking, despite noise. The new study aimed to test whether there would be a similar relationship between spindles and stress.

The hypothesis proved true. "We found that those who had the lowest spindle activity tended to develop more disturbances in response to stress, when comparing sleep quality at the beginning of the semester and the end of the school semester," Dang-Vu says.

"We are not all equally armed when facing stress, in terms of how we can manage our sleep. Some people are more vulnerable than others."

How to increase spindle?

The preliminary studies carried out for the FWF project showed the positive effects of EEG biofeedback training on healthy people. This method has therefore now been tested in a pilot study on patients aged between 19 and 50 who suffer from sleep disorders. "The brain oscillations are trained during waking to a frequency range of between 12 and 15 hertz, known as the sensorimotor rhythm. This frequency range is also prominent in light sleep and manifests itself as sleep spindles, particularly when a person is falling asleep", explains Schabus. The patients were able to observe and learn to control their own sensorimotor rhythm (measured using EEG electrodes) on the computer screen. They were tasked with moving a compass needle on the screen to a green dot using only the power of mental relaxation. They received positive visual feedback each time they reached this dot, i.e. to increase the band power between 12 and 15 hertz.

"Using the training, we managed to strengthen the sensorimotor rhythm in a waking state and the sleep spindles in 16 out of 24 patients with mild insomnia. Those who responded well to the training reported an improvement in the quality of their sleep. This was ascertained by self-monitoring methods like sleep diaries and importantly also verified in our sleep laboratory", says Schabus, outlining the process. Each of the participants visited the sleep laboratory a total of 21 times, which meant that the effects could be studied in great detail. The researchers were also able to establish positive effects on memory consolidation when word pairs were retested after sleep following earlier learning. Interestingly, the subjective sleep quality among patients who successfully completed this type of biofeedback training also showed improvement

What is sleep spindle?

A sleep spindle is a burst of oscillatory brain activity visible on an EEG that occurs during stage 2 sleep. It consists of 12–14 Hz waves that occur for at least 0.5 seconds. Sleep spindles are generated in the reticular nucleus of the thalamus.

How newmindcentre.com can help you? 

1) Neuro-Hypnotherapy:

Doctors at Harvard University found that hypnotherapy actually promotes faster healing. Get hypnotized. Many insomniacs have tried this with great success. Under hypnosis, you might work out any personal issues that are robbing you of sleep. A clinical hypnotherapist can also "program" you to sleep. Our neuro-hypnotherapy technique able to help you! Personalized self-hypnosis method to fall asleep will be developed based on your brainwave response.

2) EEG biofeedback therapy/Neurotherapy 

Our EEG biofeedback/Neurotherapy is based on the international standardized 10-20 electrode location system. it is essentially a way of teaching you how to self-regulate your own electrical activity in the brain. A powerful tool for helping people fall asleep and stay asleep. Over 3,000 licensed health professionals such as psychologists, therapists, and doctors now use this new technology daily with patients. As a group, they report significant and consistent improvements for client sleep problems.

Call to schedule an appointment to meet me.

Based on your condition, I can help you to find the cause and suggest appropriate treatment.

Contact me now for more information.

Source:

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-04-brain-medication-counter-insomnia.html

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-03-brain-insomnia.html#nRlv

EEG biofeedback therapy instead of medication to counter insomnia

The ability to finally enjoy a good night's sleep is something that can be learned. An Austrian Science Fund FWF project has investigated how this can best be learned and who responds best to such "brain training".

Dark circles around the eyes, tired limbs, absent-mindedness – most people have experienced the effects on the body of a short night. "Roughly one-third of the Austrian population as a whole suffers from recurrent insomnia", says Manuel Schabus from the University of Salzburg. For years now, the psychologist has been studying a diverse range of states of consciousness. In a project funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF, Schabus and his team have now studied how the state of mind of people with sleep disorders can be improved without administering medication.

Training vs. chemistry

"People who suffer from sleeplessness, also known as insomnia, are often in a state of 'hyperarousal'. Resorting to tablets seems to be the obvious solution", explains the researcher. However, medication-based treatments are usually for short-term use only and confine themselves to fighting this state of arousal, resulting in undesirable side effects including dependence, morningness, drowsiness or amnesia. "Medication often just reduces nocturnal brain activities and thus also helpful functions such as 'memory consolidation', which is the nocturnal stabilisation of information so that recall is easier the next day", says Manuel Schabus. The neurofeedback training deployed within the framework of the FWF project, a type of biofeedback training for the brain, guides the affected persons into sleep. So-called "sleep spindles" are used in this process. These are patterns identified in EEG measurements which are characterised by "spindle-like" rapid rising and falling brain oscillations, and which occur especially during light sleep.

Crucial rhythm

The preliminary studies carried out for the FWF project showed the positive effects of neurofeedback training on healthy people. This method has therefore now been tested in a pilot study on patients aged between 19 and 50 who suffer from sleep disorders. "The brain oscillations are trained during waking to a frequency range of between 12 and 15 hertz, known as the sensorimotor rhythm. This frequency range is also prominent in light sleep and manifests itself as sleep spindles, particularly when a person is falling asleep", explains Schabus. The patients were able to observe and learn to control their own sensorimotor rhythm (measured using EEG electrodes) on the computer screen. They were tasked with moving a compass needle on the screen to a green dot using only the power of mental relaxation. They received positive visual feedback each time they reached this dot, i.e. to increase the band power between 12 and 15 hertz.

"Using the training, we managed to strengthen the sensorimotor rhythm in a waking state and the sleep spindles in 16 out of 24 patients with mild insomnia. Those who responded well to the training reported an improvement in the quality of their sleep. This was ascertained by self-monitoring methods like sleep diaries and importantly also verified in our sleep laboratory", says Schabus, outlining the process. Each of the participants visited the sleep laboratory a total of 21 times, which meant that the effects could be studied in great detail. The researchers were also able to establish positive effects on memory consolidation when word pairs were retested after sleep following earlier learning. Interestingly, the subjective sleep quality among patients who successfully completed this type of biofeedback training also showed improvement, but so did people in a pure placebo condition. In general, the researcher cautions against generalising the results: in an even more extensive follow-up protocol, people with more persistent or more pronounced insomnia did not respond to the brainwave training, nor did they exhibit any positive changes in sleep or memory.

Hippocampus fitness

"When you consider the amount of information encountered by the brain, especially the hippocampus, on a daily basis, and how sensitively it responds to stress, it is important to be mindful of treating our thinking-organ with care. Systematic training and sufficient 'sleep hygiene' not only promote well-being but also protect newly learned information from disruptive influences", says Schabus. The studies conducted as part of the FWF project play an important role in encouraging trainingof this vital human faculty and act as a reminder to adopt a more conscious approach to sleep.

More information: Schabus et.al: "Enhancing sleep quality and memory in insomnia using instrumental sensorimotor rhythm conditioning." Biological Psychology 95 (2014) 126 –134. 
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23548378

Provided by Austrian Science Fund (FWF)

Source:

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-04-brain-medication-counter-insomnia.html

马来西亚失眠治疗-催眠疗法与营养治疗相结合

在Newmindcentre,
我们将催眠治疗与营养治疗相结合，有效克服失眠问题

引起失眠的原因有很多，多数是由心理因素引起。因此，催眠治疗失眠可以取得良好的效果。专家表示，长期失眠的人，其内心的痛苦是常人难以体会的，必须尽快采取有效措施进行治疗。专家指出，在临床催眠师语言的诱导下，能使患者达到全身乃至心灵深处的放松。临床催眠师的循循诱导，能使患者摆脱所有影响睡眠的症结；再通过一针见血的语言指令，使一切造成压力、紧张、不安、挫折的因素得以宣泄，深层的病因被临床催眠师消除，从而能使患者体验到心身放松的快感和愉悦。 失眠者只要经常体验这种松弛状态，那么恢复正常的睡眠功能那是指日可待的事情了。由此可见，催眠治疗失眠可谓是除药物治疗以外一种最有效的治疗方法，而且绝对是绿色无污染的。

基于营养的临床催眠治疗或心理治疗，能补充身体所需的营养成分和消除对身体有害的食物成分，从而达到身体最佳分子结构、身体健康、心理功能良好的一种疗法。
它的理论基础是人体缺少某些营养成分，可导致一系列心理症状，如镁缺乏症可引起不恰当的运动、定向困难和幻觉等。當血液中的血清素濃度太低時，即會感到心情低落、憂鬱。 
对心理障碍和身体障碍病人的检查发现，这些人往往有某种营养成分的缺乏。
斯可卜(ScoPp，A.L.)发现90%的心理咨询病人营养达不到标准水平。另一方面，有些食物则可造成心理功能紊乱，如某些食物可引起变态反应，使儿童学习困难。
芬固(Feingold)等人在食物中清除添加剂、储存剂、糖等后，改善了多动症和学习困难儿童的症状。
营养成分的缺少，可通过计算机饮食调查、头发重金属检车分析、生物反馈Biofeedback等科技测查等方法调查了解个人身心状态和营养缺失报告。
针对性地补充营养或避免不合适食物，对慢性抑郁症、焦虑、多动、学习无能和精神病有一定效果，营养疗法若与催眠疗法结合，可提高失眠或其他心理保健之疗效。 





我们有两个“大脑”？
肠道是最原始的第一大脑，只有通过更加高效的营养供应我们才能建立起第二大脑，这样我们才能找到更好的食物。心理和肠道关系密切。我们的肚子非常敏感，它能感知。我想，每个人都或多或少注意到了：悲伤的时候有人会吃很多东西，有人会吃不下东西；压力大的时候有的人会打嗝，有的会腹泻或便秘。很多时候，悲观情绪或注意力障碍也是消化系统出了问题的信号。
一直以来，情绪的研究都离不开大脑神经系统。现在，越来越多的研究表明，病原微生物能够影响宿主的大脑和行为, 甚至诱发精神疾患。肠道细菌能影响小鼠的大脑神经系统发育和行为模式的发展。肠道微生物还与高血压、高血脂、慢性疲劳综合征、肥胖等慢性炎症状态有关，甚至与孤独症和抑郁症等精神疾病有关。

腸道健康與大腦息息相關 
美國哥倫比亞大學解剖細胞生物學教授，也是醫學博士Michael D. Gershon提出「第二大腦」的學說，也就是， 每個人都有兩個大腦，一個位於頭部；一個藏在人體肚子裡的腸道，又稱為「腹腦」。 腸子在結構與神經化學層面上，與大腦息息相關，「頭腦」與「腹腦」兩者必須合作，否則肚子亂糟糟、腦袋慘兮兮。 

腸子分泌重要的荷爾蒙— 血清素 ，在腸道會促進腸道蠕動，也作用在大腦，是大腦的幸福分子，與情緒平衡有關。當血液中的血清素濃度太低時，即會感到心情低落、憂鬱。 

您是否曾發現，如果一早順利排便，肚子輕鬆了，心情相對也會開心、不焦慮。腹腦和大腦相互聯繫，一個出毛病，另一個也受影響，所以保養我們的第二個大腦很重要。就健康的角度來說，我個人建議一天至少一次排便。 

肠道内布满了神经元，数量几乎和头脑一样多 肠道被称为我们人体的“第二大脑”，研究表明，胃肠存在着一些内分泌细胞，其分泌的物质具有类似大脑内分泌素，可调节胃肠神经，乃至全身神经系统的功能。此外，肚子里有一个非常复杂的神经网络。它拥有大约1000亿个神经细胞，比骨髓里的细胞还多。

研究表明，慢性胃肠疾病一般与细菌感染有关，而细菌的毒素对人体恶性刺激也有可能影响大脑和神经系统的调节功能，从而引起或加 重失眠。值得一提的是， 医学心理学列出了38种身心疾病，其中属于胃肠疾病的如：贲门痉挛、十二指肠溃疡、胃溃疡、过敏性结肠炎、痉挛性结肠炎、溃疡性结肠炎、呕吐等11种之 多，占了1/4多。可以看出失眠与胃肠疾病具有共同的身心障碍基础。

胃神经症与人的精神状态有关，它常以精神过度紧张或精神创伤为发病基础，症状复杂，有反酸、嗳气、厌 食、烧心、恶心、呕吐、食后饱胀感、上腹部不适感及疼痛等症状。腹疼程度不一，无节律性与周期性，精神紧张时则疼痛出现或加剧，精神愉快则消失。疼痛也可 因适当的暗示而缓解。此外，病人多有头晕、头疼、失 眠、心悸、胸闷、注意力不集中、记忆力减退、阵发性面部潮红及手掌多汗等全身症状。

失眠，不可乱用安眠药

对于顽固性失眠症患者，适当给予镇静安眠药以改善失眠状况是可以的，但要特别注意避免由此引发成瘾依赖行为，安眠药常常有时间滞后的抑制作用，会导致白天嗜睡、乏力、精神萎靡而容易发生意外跌倒等不良后果，甚至有的老人发生进食、饮水时的呛咳和窒息，更为严重的是，患有睡眠性呼吸暂停症者约占老年人群的1/4，而安眠药可延长呼吸暂停的时间，以致发生猝死。

肠道菌群失衡与失眠
益生菌能产生一种γ-氨基丁酸的代谢产物，这种代谢产物是一种非蛋白质组成的天然氨基酸，人体大脑系统最安全的镇定剂，有抑制性神经传递，抗精神不安、抑制中枢神经系统兴奋、减低血压的作用，因此具有安眠、抗焦虑抗抑郁的作用。
同时，益生菌通过减弱神经系统的敏感度来改善睡眠，当有炎症发生而影响睡眠的时候，益生菌增强调节T细胞的功能，减弱发炎部位向神经系统传递的信号。






资料来源：
http://www.vchale.com/bjbhwwz/20 ... 74a0d15222962d.html
http://blog.sciencenet.cn/blog-40692-766416.html
http://www.superpb.com/yineng/188.html
http://www.chinajs120.com/smz/yfzl/2014/0926/23608.html