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Non-Sleep Deep Rest: A Neurobiologist's Take

Plus: the AI that offers detailed, individual aging profiles

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The 10almonds Team
November 15, 2023

Today’s almonds have been activated by:

❝Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole word seems upset❞

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⏰ IN A RUSH?

Today’s 30-Second Summary

If you don’t have time to read the whole email today, here are some key takeaways:

  • Non-Sleep Deep Rest, or NSDR, is a neurobiologist’s take on yoga nidra.

    • It engages the parasympathetic nervous system, and slows down brain activity, allowing us to enter restorative states usually not available to us while waking

      • It is, however, an adjunct to healthy sleep, not a replacement!

  • The conditions associated with untreated menopause can range from the inconvenient (e.g. mood swings) to the potentially life-threatening (e.g. heart palpitations)

    • Today’s sponsor, Wellcore, is offering an at-home test kit to help take your menopausal healthcare into your own hands, and find out what is responsible for what—and then enjoy treatment, if appropriate.

Read on to learn about these things and more…

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👀 WATCH AND LEARN

Avoid These Pillow Mistakes: Learn How to Choose and Use the Perfect Pillow (11:57)

Dr. Saunders wants to save your neck:

  • 01:14 | Regular pillow: pillows are for your neck not head!

  • 03:44 | Neck hump and pillow position

  • 04:38 | Cervical pillow: double curved pillow

  • 06:24 | Side sleeper? Tip for those who sleep on their sides

  • 06:45 | Roll or cylinder pillow

  • 07:44 | Rolled towel

  • 08:25 | Wedge pillow (GERD, sleep apnea, cervical vertigo, neck or lower back pain?)

  • 10:18 | Wedge pillow for lumbar disc bulge?

Want to watch it, but not right now? Bookmark it for later 🔖

(you could otherwise lose more time than this video, by not sleeping so well!)

😌 MAIN FEATURE

How to get many benefits of sleep, while awake!

This is Dr. Andrew Huberman, a neuroscientist and professor in the department of neurobiology at Stanford School of Medicine.

He’s also a popular podcaster, and as his Wikipedia page notes:

❝In episodes lasting several hours, Huberman talks about the state of research in a specific topic, both within and outside his specialty❞

Today, we won’t be taking hours, and we will be taking notes from within his field of specialty (neurobiology). Specifically, in this case:

Non-Sleep Deep Rest (NSDR)

What is it? To quote from his dedicated site on the topic:

❝What is NSDR (Yoga Nidra)? Non-Sleep Deep Rest, also known as NSDR, is a method of deep relaxation developed by Dr. Andrew Huberman, a neuroscientist at Stanford University School of Medicine.

It's a process that combines controlled breathing and detailed body scanning to bring you into a state of heightened awareness and profound relaxation. The main purpose of NSDR is to reduce stress, enhance focus, and improve overall well-being.❞

While we can’t claim that Dr. Huberman developed yoga nidra, it is reassuring to get a neurobiologist’s view on this:

How it works, by science

Dr. Huberman says that by monitoring EEG readings during NSDR, we can see how the brain slows down. Measurably!

  • It goes from an active beta range of 13–30 Hz (normal waking) to a conscious meditation state of an alpha range of 8–13 Hz.

  • However, with practice, it can drop further, into a theta range of 4–8 Hz.

  • Ultimately, sustained SSDR practice can get us to 0.5–3 Hz.

This means that the brain is functioning in the delta range, something that typically only occurs during our deepest sleep.

You may be wondering: why is delta lower than theta? That’s not how I remember the Greek alphabet being ordered!

Indeed, while the Greek alphabet goes alpha beta gamma delta epsilon zeta eta theta (and so on), the brainwave frequency bands are:

  • Gamma = concentrated focus, >30 Hz

  • Beta = normal waking, 13–30 Hz

  • Alpha = relaxed state, 8–13 Hz

  • Theta = light sleep, 4–8 Hz

  • Delta = deep sleep, 1–4 Hz

Source: Sleep Foundation ← with a nice infographic there too

NSDR uses somatic cues to engage our parasympathetic nervous system, which in turn enables us to reach those states. The steps are simple:

  1. Pick a time and place when you won’t be disturbed

  2. Lie on your back and make yourself comfortable

  3. Close your eyes as soon as you wish, and now that you’ve closed them, imagine closing them again. And again.

  4. Slowly bring your attention to each part of your body in turn, from head to toe. As your attention goes to each part, allow it to relax more.

  5. If you wish, you can repeat this process for another wave, or even a third.

  6. Find yourself well-rested!

Note: this engagement of the parasympathetic nervous system and slowing down of brain activity accesses restorative states not normally available while waking, but 10 minutes of NSDR will not replace 7–9 hours of sleep; nor will it give you the vital benefits of REM sleep specifically.

So: it’s an adjunct, not a replacement 😉

Want to try it, but not sure where/how to start?

When you’re ready, let Dr. Huberman himself guide you through it in this shortish (10:49) soundtrack:

Want to try it, but not right now? Bookmark it for later 🔖

Take care!

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❤️ OUR SPONSORS MAKE THIS PUBLICATION POSSIBLE

Wellcore | Personalized Menopausal Healthcare

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And yet, many people are left to guess at what symptoms might mean, or worse, simply ignore them.

Wellcore believes in doing better. To make diagnosis and treatment much more accessible to everyone, they offer an at-home testing kit. They’ll then analyze the results, and offer appropriate hormone therapy themselves if you want it (there are many benefits).

Please do visit our sponsors—they help keep 10almonds free

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🌍 AROUND THE WEB

What’s happening in the health world…

More to come tomorrow!

📖 ONE-MINUTE BOOK REVIEW

A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy – by Dr. William Irvine

"Living well" is a surprisingly underrated part of wellness. We spend much of our lives in turmoil. Some of us, windswept and battered by the storms of life; others, up in quietly crumbling towers, seemingly "great" but definitely not feeling it. Diet and exercise etc will only get us so far. What else, then, can we do?

For Dr. Irvine, the key lies in two main things:

  1. Deciding how we intend to live our life (and doing so)

  2. Remaining tranquil in the face of external stressors

In Japanese terms, these things can be seen in ikigai and zen, respectively. This book puts them in Western terms, specifically, that of Stoic philosophy. But the goals and methods are very similar.

Far from being an abstract tome of wishy-washy philosophy, this book offers down-to-earth practical exercises and easily applicable advice. There was even an exercise that was new to this reviewer who has been reading such things for decades.

The writing style is also, true to Stoic principles, unpretentious and simple. This is an easy book to read, while being nonethless very engaging from start to finish—and thereafter!

Bottom line: so far as we know, we only get one shot at life, so we might as well make it a good one. Applying the ideas found in this book can help any reader to live better, and take more joy in it along the way.

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May today see you well-rested, happy and healthy,

The 10almonds Team