Inclined Bed Therapy (formerly Elevating the head of your bed)

[raw-al]

I put some more of the info on the bed therapy on this post
http://www.rawpaleodietforum.com/hot-topics/before-you-believe-what-you-read-on-quackwatch-read-this/new/#new

I am still enjoying the therapy. I am at 8". No problems. Sleep like a log and no snoring now.

Too bad this article from Nenah's book is so longer I would type it all in here. but I did put  some of the bigger stuff at that link.

Her book is incredible.

[Dorothy]

I put a post that followed yours Al.

I however am NOT sleeping like a log. I used to sleep like a log and now I'm sleeping much lighter, waking up, having tons of dreams but also  having more energy during the day. I can't even stay in bed to do my normal routines in the morning - too antsy. Want UP.

It's obviously making a big impact.

The biggest I want to repeat here is that both my husband and I can't seem to drink enough water. It's freaky weird how much water we are drinking.

[raw-al]

I just learned that a friend has raised his bed 8" because of a hiatal hernia.

[Dorothy]

Did it help the hernia?

My sleep is radically different. I think it's a good thing overall - but I'm interesting to see what happens in the long-run.

Interesting too is that my dog since the first day I elevated my bed refuses to sleep in it any more. He visits at night and then leaves to sleep on the floor and visits in the morning again to get his massage. Yes, he is spoiled.

[majormark]

ook, I kept wondering how to elevate my bed, looked at inflatable balloons under the mattress etc, and today it dawned on me to just grab a few pieces of wood and stack them under the top. Really simple  . It's lifted 12 cm now, need to get more of those to have the right height.

Al,
Can you tell me why did you mention 8 inches (~20cm), was that calculated with the formula (mattress length*sin(5))?

Also, what's the link of that IBT forum? I'd like more testimonials about this.

Interesting:
Inclined Bed Therapy I.B.T. Andrew K Fletcher

[raw-al]

ook, I kept wondering how to elevate my bed, looked at inflatable balloons under the mattress etc, and today it dawned on me to just grab a few pieces of wood and stack them under the top. Really simple  . It's lifted 12 cm now, need to get more of those to have the right height.

Al,
Can you tell me why did you mention 8 inches (~20cm), was that calculated with the formula (mattress length*sin(5))?

Also, what's the link of that IBT forum? I'd like more testimonials about this.

12 CM = 4 3/4" I had to look it up : )

People just talk about that amount (8" or 20 cm) as a round #. It may well be 5 degrees.

Depending on your bed type you could stack it under the box spring at the head and maybe a couple of places down the bed to support it on the angle.

I just put it under the legs at the head of the bed.

[Dorothy]

Majormark - I posted on page two of this thread the link to the forum.

You will find lots of ideas on the raising of the bed on that forum. Hubbie just replaced some legs on my side and I was instantly up but on his side he first used phone books and then bought a frame and did all sorts of tinkering in his shop.

[raw-al]

I've noticed that I am having much larger bowel movements in the morning too. The first two days they were stinkier than normal.

Probably increased hydration.

The stinkier part is similar to what people in the Rife community talk about when they mention a detox. It's just old stuff getting flushed from who knows where.

[raw-al]

Also, what's the link of that IBT forum? I'd like more testimonials about this.

From Dorothy's post # 18

http://www.inclinedbedtherapy.com/index.php?option=com_ninjaboard&view=forums&Itemid=30
This goes directly to the reverse trendelenberg position page on that forum (sleeping like a bat).
http://www.inclinedbedtherapy.com/index.php?option=com_ninjaboard&view=topic&id=46&Itemid=30

[Dorothy]

Maybe - it might also be that my system that usually is shut down at night just keeps on going and then it all comes out in the morning. During the day I pee often and poop after eating - but when you are still processing all night and hold it in until morning there just isn't the frequent little cleanses like in the day and becomes one big cleanse in the morning of everything all night. It's like instead of having to fit in 24 hours worth of work crammed into 14 - 16 hours my body just got every hour to do the tidying in. I love it that those night - time hours are being used more productively.

I betcha that if someone has so much that they can't get it out during the day that this night shift work could really be a miracle cure. I can see why it works.

[raw-al]

Maybe - it might also be that my system that usually is shut down at night just keeps on going and then it all comes out in the morning. During the day I pee often and poop after eating - but when you are still processing all night and hold it in until morning there just isn't the frequent little cleanses like in the day and becomes one big cleanse in the morning of everything all night. It's like instead of having to fit in 24 hours worth of work crammed into 14 - 16 hours my body just got every hour to do the tidying in. I love it that those night - time hours are being used more productively.

I betcha that if someone has so much that they can't get it out during the day that this night shift work could really be a miracle cure. I can see why it works.

That is a vata tendency, to go more frequently. If you seem to be doing it that way then that's perfect.

[Dorothy]

Yeah - Va ta's me. hee hee.

[Wolf]

I've never wanted to sleep with my head elevated, I hate even sleeping with a pillow and sleep flat on my bed.. but I know I -have- noticed that when I fell asleep in class in high school (when I still ate SAD, plenty of school pizza) while sitting up in my seat with my head on the desk, I got really really good sleep then.  It was a really weird sleep to, it was so extremely light that I could still hear everything that was going on around me even though I was asleep.  And even if I got only a few minutes of sleep like that, I still felt really refreshed afterwards.

So I've wondered if maybe sleeping while sitting up is better than laying down, though I've never actually been able to fall asleep at night while sitting up.  The only other way I've thought of sleeping is the way described in "Never Cry Wolf" which the guy observed Wolves to sleep in a particular way that they get up every few minutes, walk in a circle and then lay back down and sleep for a few minutes, before getting up again, and just continuing like that the whole time.  He said it was an amazingly wonderful way to sleep and that he felt a lot more refreshed after far less sleep than sleeping like a log.  I wanted to try that too, but was never successful mostly because I do enjoy just sleeping like a log most of the time. 

Never really thought of elevating my head though, and usually preferred having my head lowered and feet elevated, but after reading this maybe I'll make more of an effort to keep my upper body more elevated so that I don't get all those toxins staying.. I probably wouldn't be able to have an elevated bed so much though, because I can't sleep on my back, and i also like to switch which side of the bed I lay my head at.

[majormark]

After the first night at 12cm height, I can say it went pretty well.

* I only slept 7 hours, actually maybe only 5... because I kept having these really vivid visualizations/dreams for the first two hours while still being conscious (probably that milk and honey I ate before bed contributed to some extent).

* I felt really refreshed in the morning (despite the short amount of time in bed), all chackras were activated completely (but I will not jump to conclusions yet, because this is not the first time it happens).

* I did feel the need to drink some more liquids, but not so much as Dorothy reported. This is probably because yesterday I ate a lot of fat (butter and milk), which normally provides good hydration.

I will keep this height for now to see what happens in the next few days and will get to 17.4cm after that.

Thanks Al for the tips! If IBT turns out to reduce the necessary sleep time overall it's worth it just for that. I have a theory, that may or may not be true, but I think that at night some key brain cells get replaced and we can not be conscious during the process. Also if the metabolism is increased during this process, those cells should get replaced faster and less sleep time should be required (maybe even more food intake too). 

[raw-al]

Wolf,
The idea is not to just raise your head, say with a pillow, but to tilt the whole lying surface from head to foot of the bed or whatever you are lying on.

I do not like a pillow when laying on my back. It causes neck pain. Also sleeping while sitting, unfortunately results in my head hanging in one direction or another which results in a stretched and painful neck "kink".

[Dorothy]

Majormark - you said it first so it's not my fault - chakras are different. There has been lots of shifting.

I'm wondering if in part my husband's weird heart beats has something to do with the bed tilt because our heart chakras both have been more open. We have both been wanting to touch more, have more sex, be more lovely dovey and say kinder more generous things to each other and I can feel the difference in my chakras. It's hard to say that this has been just the beds - but I think it has had a impact.

I will try to eat more fat today to see if that helps with the thirst, but the thirst has already started to subside somewhat. It peaked 2-3 days after the tilt. I also went full tilt right away which might have been part of why I need (ed) so much water.

[Dorothy]

That is a vata tendency, to go more frequently. If you seem to be doing it that way then that's perfect.

I realized Al that what I wrote might have been misinterpreted. I don't poop each time after eating - I meant that I don't usually poop without eating first as peristalsis usually will get started after a meal. I normally don't eat my first meal until the afternoon and even that first meal is liquid. Since I started eating my first meal so late I would rarely have a bm in the morning. But with the bed tilt the bms in the morning have been large. That's why I think it has to do with the fact that everything is kept moving so much at night that now in the morning there is a natural desire to rid the body of all the sanitation work of the night.

[jessica]

i decided to join this experiment because my sleep is already awesome so perhaps ill have different result?
i fall asleep easily at about 9 pm and wake naturally between 5:30 and 6 am. 
sometimes i have to wake up and pee and drink water but i dont have trouble falling back to sleep
i have at least two rounds of dreams per night
i wake up really nice and warm and my skin looks like i have excellent circulation, i think i breathe better at night then during the day:/
i pee first thing and usually poo shortly there after, sometimes without even drinking water, but mostly after ive had a little swig or two..
i stuck two bricks that are about 2 inches thick under each side of the bed, so i raised it 4 inches at the head and whatever mathmatics and numbers blahblahblah

[Dorothy]

Welcome to the party Jessica! 

[jessica]

oops well fuck i would like to modify the above post to show that that is the report of my pre-elevated sleep quality

last night i slept with the bed elevated by two bricks, so about 4-5 inches i am guessing
anyway it was a bit harder for me to fall asleep, i noticed my feet were extremely warm
still woke up to pee and drink water and the regular time, it was just as easy to fall back asleep
had extra vivid silly dreams and good recall, definitely two rounds of dreaming
same bodily functions upon waking
it was weird and fun to slide down the bed to get out

[jessica]

2nd night
fell asleep more quickly
feet didnt feel as hot
woke up earlier in middle of the night to take a pee and drink water
seriously vivid dreams
woke again at 5 am to pee and drink water
amourous dreams, lol! but wanted to add that because perhaps if i had a sig. other it might corroborate others experiences of feeling more sexual

kinda feel more stiff in the morning though, my feet dont feel as rested..hhm?
will keep trying for a while longer to see if there is any difference

[Alive]

Elevated 3 inches for the first night - so far so good.

Will add another 3 inches next week

[raw-al]

Snoring seems to be gone.

[RawZi]

    I have not been around lately, so, I have not tilted my bed. I'm not sure if I will tilt it. I will discuss it at home.

    D, what you say from time to time often hits home, and is amazing of course!

the bed tilt because our heart chakras both have been more open. We have both been wanting to touch more, have more sex, be more lovely dovey and say kinder more generous things to each other and I can feel the difference in my chakras. It's hard to say that this has been just the beds - but I think it has had a impact.

I will try to eat more fat today to see if that helps with the thirst, but the thirst has already started to subside somewhat. It peaked 2-3 days after the tilt.

    I think it may be partially astrological or something else, perhaps a coincidence. We've been more amorous etc here too, without a tilt.

    I think I've been snoring a little lately. Maybe I'll use that angle to tilt it.

    My head can tend to be warm when I sleep. Perhaps tilting would cool it.

    I didn't read the other pages of this thread yet. Did man during paleo era tilt when he slept?

[Dorothy]

Zi - I bet people didn't sleep constantly on a totally flat surface in the wild! It also feels weird to sleep with head down so I bet when on a little bit of an incline in nature we put our heads in the higher position. Funny to hear that we are in sink "astrologically".

My bowel movements and urination have gone back to normal as has my sleep/yoga/mediations habits for the most part. My dreams are still much more vivid and like they used to be so just that one thing would have me keep the tilt. Hubbie's going to chiropractor today to see if that will help with the skipped beats that has been happening since we tilted. If the chiro doesn't make a difference - we will put his bed back down at least most of the way. That's just too scary weird and since it coincided with the tilt - he might have gone too fast or the tilt might have affected his meridians or his spine. His spine is not looking good - whereas for me I'm standing up straighter and the tilt is working quite well in that regard. One of the differences might be that hubbie sleeps mostly on his side where I don't.  Could be just a coincidence - just can't take the chance.