Recovery and Function of the Thyroid After Stopping Supplements"Contrary to common beliefs about the thyroid, the gland resumes its function after stopping a supplement – even if it was previously suppressed. Sometimes taking thyroid hormone can restore the gland’s function to a normal level. Thyroid hormone sometimes helps very thin people gain weight by improving protein metabolism, and it often also helps to sleep more peacefully." Nutrition For Women |
Magnesium Carbonate Can Improve Sleep Quality"Sometimes a few hundred milligrams of magnesium carbonate per day (or a spoonful of bitter salt/Epsom salt, if this dose is divided into several portions to avoid the laxative effect) can immediately restore normal sleep." Nutrition For Women |
Daylight and Blood Sugar: Influence on Sleep"Since blood sugar is usually higher during the day – due to the effect of light on various glands – some people with impaired liver function find it easier to sleep during the day." Nutrition For Women |
Reversing Aging Processes Through Deep Slow-Wave Sleep"Many of the changes caused by daily stresses are reversed during deep slow-wave sleep. With increasing age, the amount of slow-wave sleep decreases. Some animal studies have shown that artificially extended sleep was able to reverse some of the major problems of aging. Progesterone can increase the amount of slow-wave sleep, probably due to its effect on body temperature." November 2020 - Ray Peat's Newsletter |
Energy Factors That Promote Sleep Could Extend Lifespan"A combination of energy-promoting factors that increase body temperature and enhance deep sleep seems to be a sensible approach to extending healthy lifespan." November 2020 - Ray Peat's Newsletter |
Daily Rhythms of Brain Activity and Mental Health: The Role of Light and the Pineal Gland"Since healthy individuals have pronounced daily cycles of brain activity (reflecting a corresponding concentration of brain amines) and many psychotics show flattened cycles – associated with disturbed sleep as well as disturbed waking consciousness – cyclical light stimulation of the skin and head might be desirable to support regular cyclical activity of the pineal gland and the brain." Mind And Tissue Russian Research Perspectives on the Human Brain |
Basic Therapies: Sleep and Nutrition to Restore Energy"The oldest, most fundamental therapies – sleep and nutrition – serve the same function: restoring energy reserves. Pavlov worked with the simplest stimulants and sedatives, such as caffeine and bromide, to restore normal nerve functions, and naturally always considered sensory stimulation essential to maintain and restore normal functioning." Mind And Tissue Russian Research Perspectives on the Human Brain |
Potential of natural anesthetic steroids for chemically induced sleep"The natural anesthetic steroids would probably be the first choice for a chemically induced sleep state if they could be administered practically." Mind And Tissue Russian Research Perspectives on the Human Brain |
Brain amines in hypoxia: effects on sleep, wake states, and respiratory adaptation"Brain amines seem to support these ordered states – both clarity in wakefulness and the firmness of sleep require sufficient amines. In rats made hypoxic, monoamine oxidase activity decreases, and the effectiveness of respiration apparently increases as an adaptation (Khvatova, Rubanova, and Zhilina, Voprosy Meditsinskoy Khimii 19(1), 3-5, 1973. Administration of monoamine oxidase inhibitors improves resistance of mice to hypoxia (Piskarev, et al., Farmakologiy i Toksikologiya 36(1), 48-54, 1973).)" Mind And Tissue Russian Research Perspectives on the Human Brain |
Sleep disorders in rats lead to a metabolic syndrome"In rats, persistent sleep disruption leads to a syndrome of increased food intake, weight loss, elevated noradrenaline, reduced thyroxine, and lowered body temperature." March 2018 - Ray Peat's Newsletter |
Metabolic changes during sleep in the organism"The entire organism sleeps, even though the brain regulates the process. In some aspects of its metabolism – especially in the turnover of phospholipids – the brain is very active during sleep, yet its energy consumption decreases, and it causes the skeletal muscles to relax, thereby reducing their glucose consumption." March 2018 - Ray Peat's Newsletter |
Effects of Sleep Deprivation on the Rise of Free Fatty Acids"Although free fatty acids usually rise at night, this increase is significantly stronger when sleep is insufficient, showing a diabetes-like metabolism – with a shift toward fat rather than glucose oxidation." March 2018 - Ray Peat's Newsletter |
How sleep mitigates stress-induced catabolism"The stress of darkness creates an inefficient catabolic state in which cortisol breaks down tissue to provide glucose – and sleep reduces this stress to some extent." March 2018 - Ray Peat's Newsletter |
ATP release, inflammatory factors, and sleep rhythms"When cells are excited, they release some ATP into their immediate surroundings. There it signals fatigue or injury and activates the production of inflammatory factors like TNF-alpha, which promote the sleep rhythm." March 2018 - Ray Peat's Newsletter |
Independent onset of the sleep rhythm in individual brain areas"A small area of the brain can enter the sleep rhythm earlier than other areas if it has been more strongly stimulated." March 2018 - Ray Peat's Newsletter |
Impact of Hypothyroidism on Sleep and Cell Activity"Since thyroid hormone is necessary everywhere in the body for oxidative metabolism, a deficiency causes brain cells to relax only slowly. This delays the onset of sleep and can even prevent the deepest, most restorative sleep. Because all cells are regulated by excitatory and inhibitory processes, hypothyroidism can cause a shift toward excitatory states – which can lead, for example, to abnormal secretion and cell proliferation." March 2018 - Ray Peat's Newsletter |
How Sleep Begins in the Brain"Sleep begins in the cerebral cortex and then spreads to other areas of the brain and body." March 2018 - Ray Peat's Newsletter |
Understanding Falling Asleep: Spread of Cortical Inhibition"The known processes during falling asleep can be understood as the spread of inhibition from the cerebral cortex to the brainstem and adjacent structures." March 2018 - Ray Peat's Newsletter |
Nighttime Body Processes: Protein Breakdown"During the night – even despite the calming effect of sleep – protein breakdown is significantly faster than its synthesis, and calcium is lost from the bones." March 2018 - Ray Peat's Newsletter |
Pavlov’s Successors Saw Sleep as Key in Psychotherapy"For the generation of therapists following Pavlov, such as K. I. Platonov (1930), inducing sleep was considered the most effective component of psychotherapy." March 2018 - Ray Peat's Newsletter |
Intensity of Lipolysis and Disruption of Restorative Deep Sleep"The intensity of lipolysis at night decreases during the most restorative deep sleep. However, the free fatty acids themselves tend to increase lactate by blocking the oxidation of glucose to carbon dioxide and dampen glucose metabolism. This creates an inflammatory and excited state that disrupts deep sleep." March 2018 - Ray Peat's Newsletter |
Snacks to Support Restorative Sleep and Brain Health"Using snacks to minimize the nighttime rise of free fatty acids and hypoglycemia is an effective method to support restorative sleep and slow down the brain-aging effects of unstable fatty acid accumulation. Calcium and vitamin D – in sufficient amounts to keep parathyroid hormone low – contribute to this process." March 2018 - Ray Peat's Newsletter |
Salty Snacks and Better Sleep Quality"Salty snacks are especially helpful for promoting falling asleep – probably because they stabilize blood sugar and reduce adrenaline. Ice cream, which combines sugar and calcium and contains some fat that prolongs sugar absorption, is often effective in improving sleep quality." March 2018 - Ray Peat's Newsletter |
T3: Effects on Sleep and Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone"Thyroxine, T4, helps lower the nighttime level of the proinflammatory thyroid-stimulating hormone TSH, but 5 or 10 mcg of fast-acting T3 before bedtime usually leads to falling asleep within minutes." March 2018 - Ray Peat's Newsletter |
The role of deep sleep in restoring cellular stability"During deep sleep, inhibitory processes can restore stability in cells damaged by toxic excitatory processes." March 2017 - Ray Peat's Newsletter |
Serotonin as the basis for melatonin production and its role in sleep"Serotonin is the precursor of melatonin, which is important for adapting to darkness by promoting sleep to reduce stress." July 2019 - Ray Peat's Newsletter |
The serotonin pathway: how gut processes affect the brain"Events in the gut, where most serotonin is produced, in the blood, where it is transported, and in the lungs, where a large part is detoxified, influence the brain. Toxins produced by gut bacteria cause serotonin to be released into the bloodstream, and if platelets cannot hold it tightly until the lungs can eliminate it, some of it reaches the brain, where it disrupts sleep and other brain functions." July 2019 - Ray Peat's Newsletter |
Therapy aspects: light, gut flora, sleep, and stimulation"Other factors to consider in any therapy include the light environment and gut flora (endotoxin activates HIF), the cycles of sleep and activity, as well as the quality of environmental stimulation." July 2017 - Ray Peat's Newsletter |
Proper heat dosing: boost metabolism and improve sleep"Before going to bed, a mild warm bath can compensate for low internal heat production, stimulate metabolism, and help increase glycogen stores and raise progesterone levels – enabling deeper, more restorative sleep. However, if the bath is too hot or too long, or if the influence of estrogen is too strong, the higher metabolic rate can further exacerbate inefficient metabolism, deplete energy reserves, and lead to higher stress hormones. Additional carbohydrates before and during the warm bath improve the therapeutic effect and reduce the risk of heat shock." January 2021 - Ray Peat's Newsletter |
REM sleep and orienting reflex promote flexible thinking"REM sleep and the orienting reflex both promote flexibility and fluidity of thinking – with increased sensitivity to movement." January 2018 - Ray Peat's Newsletter |
Progesterone increases REM sleep – indication of ongoing orientation"It has been suggested (Sanford, et al., 1993) that the presence of these waves in REM sleep indicates that the brain is in a state of more or less continuous orientation. When progesterone is administered during sleep, it increases the proportion of REM." January 2018 - Ray Peat's Newsletter |
Cyproheptadine: Versatile Benefits for Sleep and Cancer"Cyproheptadine, 2 to 4 mg before bedtime, would help him both with sleep and cancer. It also has a calcium-blocking effect, acts as an aldosterone antagonist, and counteracts the antidiuretic effect of serotonin." Email Response from Ray Peat |
The Role of the Thyroid in Sleep and Energy Production"Since I was able to sleep soundly immediately after starting thyroid hormone and had seen that thyroid hormone alone would cure insomnia in most people (sometimes – as a doctor described his experience – even better than morphine), I began to understand that the adrenaline disrupting sleep was a sign of poor energy production. And that the things restoring sleep – for example thyroid, salt, sugar, protein, and progesterone – directly affected the cells' energy production." January 2000 - Ray Peat's Newsletter |
Salty Foods Before Bedtime to Improve Sleep"I have recommended salty foods before bedtime to promote sleep – because of the well-known anti-adrenal effect of sodium. There are some complicated explanations for how sodium affects adrenaline, as well as how its thermogenic effect occurs. But the simple fact that it is needed for glucose uptake can explain its ability to lower adrenaline (since adrenaline rises when glucose is needed) and increase heat production." 1998 - Ray Peat's Newsletter - 4 |
The Calming Effect of Thyroid Hormone in Hypermetabolism"Although I tended to be hypermetabolic and had puzzled for years over the simultaneous occurrence of signs of both hyper- and hypothyroidism, I finally tried taking thyroid hormone. Immediately, I was able to sleep easily and deeply, and my need for food decreased. It was obvious that the thyroid had a calming effect on my entire metabolism. I slept more efficiently, woke up refreshed, had plenty of energy during the day, and started looking for household tasks to do for fun. Before taking thyroid hormone, the first thing I did every morning was drink two or three cups of coffee. But just a few days after starting, I noticed I hardly thought about coffee anymore and drank about 90% less – without feeling any withdrawal symptoms." April 1994 - Ray Peat's Newsletter |
Influence of Diet and Thyroid Preparations on Insomnia"In the last 20 years, I have observed that insomnia disappears in almost all people when they correct their hypothyroidism—sometimes just through dietary changes, but more often with a thyroid preparation. People have often told me they fall asleep within minutes when they take a minimal dose of thyroid before bed. By increasing the rate of energy production," April 1994 - Ray Peat's Newsletter |
Sleep as a brain function to limit stress"Sleep is a general, stress-limiting function of the brain." June 1992 - Ray Peat's Newsletter |
Effect of thyroid hormone on sleep, cramps, and anxiety"Many people think of the thyroid as a kind of stimulant because it can reverse coma or lethargy in myxedema—but this is a very misleading idea. In hypothyroidism, the brain-stimulating hormones adrenaline, estrogen, and cortisol are usually elevated, and the nerve- and muscle-relaxing magnesium is low. Normal, deep sleep is rare in a person with hypothyroidism. The correct dose of triiodothyronine (the active thyroid hormone) along with magnesium is a reliable treatment for insomnia, cramps, and anxiety—regardless of whether these symptoms are caused by exhaustion, aging, or alcohol withdrawal." June 1991 - Ray Peat's Newsletter |
Cortisol levels in darkness and stress response"People awake in the dark have higher cortisol levels than when they sleep in the dark—that is, sleep is a partial protection against the stress of darkness. The cortisol (an adrenaline) released in darkness or other stress has the important function of maintaining blood sugar levels." January 1991 - Ray Peat's Newsletter |
Antihistamine and anticholinergic herbal effects on blood sugar"I experimented with various herbs known to have antihistamine and anticholinergic effects, assuming they would help stabilize blood sugar overnight. (For example, insulin secretion is stimulated by acetylcholine from cholinergic nerves, and reducing its effect at night would lower the need for adrenaline and cortisol.) My best results so far have been with a combination of the mildly sedative Jimson weed and the stimulant Ephedra; together, it seems their antihistamine and blood sugar-supporting effects predominate, allowing for pleasant sleep—without the dry mouth effect of their anticholinergic action." January 1991 - Ray Peat's Newsletter |
