Sleep position influences REM latency

So I came across some ancient teachings suggesting that facing north is not good, because of the north pole magnetism. According to them, sleeping daily facing with the head to the north, leads to increased blood flow to the brain, which can cause sleep disturbances, nightmares and if accumulated for years and decades may even lead to hemorrhages and strokes.

I was curious, if there were studies, which explored this topic. I haven’t found studies to this particular topic, but, interestingly, stumbled upon this little abstract, that is even more fascinating. Just wanted to share that with everybody here.

So apparently, sleeping in an east-west position instead of a north-south position leads to a REM latency. Which basically means, that the period between falling asleep and the onset of the first REM period is shortened.

Quite fascinating…

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I think this really is very interesting. The article mentions that the effect is especially pronounced in the Alpha range (9 Hz - 14 Hz) which is considered to be the mild relaxation phase. However, since sleep generally begins at 5 Hz - 8 Hz (Theta), I wonder about the effect during REM. I need to read deeper in…

I have read in a number of places that the sleeping lion position should be facing north. This attributed to Padmasambhava:

“Lie down in the sleeping-lion posture, with your head pointing north. Slightly hold your breath, curve your neck, and steadily cast your gaze upwards. Focus your attention clearly and vividly on a visualized orb of white light at your heart. With clear, vivid awareness in the nature of light, fall asleep.”

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