Sounder Sleep Sominars
Professional Training Program

Study Materials

Writings by Michael Krugman

NEW! "The Art of Sleep." Michael Krugman interviewed by Laurence Pinsard for Alternative Health magazine, France

Introduction to Michael's book, The Insomnia Solution, The Natural, Drug-Free Way to a Good Night's Sleep (Warner Books, 2005)

The Hypnogenic Gesture: Voluntary Control of Sleep. This is an edited transcript of one of my introductory talks on the Sounder Sleep System. I've been told it's very clear and concise. See what you think.

Sleep and "functional integration". Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais had profound understanding of sleep, and his theory of "functional integration" helps us to understand the mechanisms of the Sounder Sleep System.

Movement, Breath, and Consciousness: The Theory of Guided Natural Breathing. When the movements of respiration are light, easy, and pleasurable, we attain a state of mental and physical ease that supports full health and vitality in all our daily actions.

The expiratory pause and the mystery of the breath. A revised version of an article from Michael's blog, Perchance to Dream.

Relevant Research

Click on the titles to view an abstract or full text. An asterisk (*) after the title indicates full text. Where available, popular, non-technical articles are listed first under each topic

1. Sleep deprivation, and sleep extension

Achermann, P.
The two-process model of sleep regulation revisited.*
AviatSpaceEnvironMed2004; 75(3, Suppl.):A37–43.

Borbély AA, Achermann P, Geering B, and Tobler I
Processes Underlying Sleep Regulation*.
From: Neuropsychopharmacology: The Fifth Generation of Progress

Bonnet MH, Arand DL.
We are chronically sleep deprived.*
Sleep. 1995 Dec;18(10):908-11. Review.
PMID: 8746400

Czeisler, C
Sleep Deficit: The Performance Killer*
Harvard Business Review

No Author
Brain Basics: Understanding Sleep*
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Lambert, Craig.
Deep into Sleep.*
Harvard Gazette, July-August 2005

Robb, Graham
The Big Sleep.*
The New York Times, November 25, 2007

Banks S, Dinges DF.
Behavioral and physiological consequences of sleep restriction.
J Clin Sleep Med. 2007 Aug 15;3(5):519-28. Review.
PMID: 17803017

Durmer JS, Dinges DF.
Neurocognitive consequences of sleep deprivation.
Semin Neurol. 2005 Mar;25(1):117-29. Review.
PMID: 15798944

Spiegel K, Leproult R, Van Cauter E.
[Impact of sleep debt on physiological rhythms]
Rev Neurol (Paris). 2003 Nov;159(11 Suppl):6S11-20. French.
PMID: 14646794 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Kamdar BB, Kaplan KA, Kezirian EJ, Dement WC.
The impact of extended sleep on daytime alertness, vigilance, and mood.
Sleep Med. 2004 Sep;5(5):441-8.
PMID: 15341888

Graphic: EEG waveforms for waking, non-REM sleep stages 1-4, and REM sleep.

Graphic: Hypnogram with EEG waveforms corresponding to sleep stages.

Graphic: Typical progression of sleep cycles during the course of a night.

Graphic: Three hypnograms showing typical sleep architecture for children, young adults, and the elderly.

Graphic: The "Two-Process" Model of the Sleep-Wake Cycle.

Graphic: Increased Whole-Body Metabolic Rate in Insomnia and Sleep-State Misperception

2. Sleep-dependent learning

Lahl O, Wispel C, Willigens B, Pietrowsky R.
An ultra short episode of sleep is sufficient to promote declarative memory performance.
J Sleep Res. 2008 Mar;17(1):3-10.
PMID: 18275549

Korman M, Doyon J, Doljansky J, Carrier J, Dagan Y, Karni A.
Daytime sleep condenses the time course of motor memory consolidation.
Nat Neurosci. 2007 Sep;10(9):1206-13. Epub 2007 Aug 12.
PMID: 17694051

Walker MP, Stickgold R, Jolesz FA, Yoo SS.
The functional anatomy of sleep-dependent visual skill learning.
Cereb Cortex. 2005 Nov;15(11):1666-75. Epub 2005 Feb 9.
PMID: 15703253

Kuriyama K, Stickgold R, Walker MP.
Sleep-dependent learning and motor-skill complexity.
Learn Mem. 2004 Nov-Dec;11(6):705-13.
PMID: 15576888

Cromie WJ.
New Stage of Memory Found.*
Harvard University Gazette 2003 November 20

Stickgold R, Walker MP.
Memory consolidation and reconsolidation: what is the role of sleep?
Trends Neurosci. 2005 Jun 22; [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 15979164

Associated Press
Study confirms sleep essential for creativity
January 21, 2004

Mednick S, Nakayama K, Stickgold R.
Sleep-dependent learning: a nap is as good as a night.
Nat Neurosci. 2003 Jul;6(7):697-8.
PMID: 12819785

Walker MP, Brakefield T, Seidman J, Morgan A, Hobson JA, Stickgold R.
Sleep and the time course of motor skill learning.*
Learn Mem. 2003 Jul-Aug;10(4):275-84.
PMID: 12888546

3. How much sleep do I need?

Rivkees SA
Time to wake-up to the individual variation in sleep needs.*
J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2003 Jan;88(1):24-5. Review.
PMID: 12519822

Aeschbach D, Sher L, Postolache TT, Matthews JR, Jackson MA, Wehr TA.
A longer biological night in long sleepers than in short sleepers.
J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2003 Jan;88(1):26-30.
PMID: 12519823

4. Sleep and weight control

Stranges S, Cappuccio FP, Kandala NB, Miller MA, Taggart FM, Kumari M, Ferrie JE, Shipley MJ, Brunner EJ, Marmot MG.
Cross-sectional versus Prospective Associations of Sleep Duration with Changes in Relative Weight and Body Fat Distribution: The Whitehall II Study.
Am J Epidemiol. 2007 Nov 15
PMID: 18006903

Lumeng JC, Somashekar D, Appugliese D, Kaciroti N, Corwyn RF, Bradley RH.
Shorter sleep duration is associated with increased risk for being overweight at ages 9 to 12 years.
Pediatrics. 2007 Nov;120(5):1020-9.
PMID: 17974739

Hellmich, Nanci
It's no pie-in-the-sky dream: Sleep may help weight loss
USA Today, Friday, December 10, 2004

Flier JS, Elmquist JK.
A good night's sleep: future antidote to the obesity epidemic?
Ann Intern Med. 2004 Dec 7;141(11):885-6. No abstract available.
PMID: 15583232

Spiegel K, Leproult R, L'hermite-Baleriaux M, Copinschi G, Penev PD, Van Cauter E.
Leptin levels are dependent on sleep duration: relationships with sympathovagal balance, carbohydrate regulation, cortisol, and thyrotropin.*
J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2004 Nov;89(11):5762-71.
PMID: 15531540

Spiegel K, Tasali E, Penev P, Van Cauter E.
Brief communication: Sleep curtailment in healthy young men is associated with decreased leptin levels, elevated ghrelin levels, and increased hunger and appetite.
Ann Intern Med. 2004 Dec 7;141(11):846-50. Summary for patients in: Ann Intern
Med. 2004 Dec 7;141(11):I52.
PMID: 15583226

5. Hyperarousal and insomnia

Graphic: Increased Whole-Body Metabolic Rate in Insomnia and Sleep-State Misperception

Vgontzas AN, Bixler EO, Lin HM, Prolo P, Mastorakos G, Vela-Bueno A, Kales A, Chrousos GP.
Chronic insomnia is associated with nyctohemeral activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis: clinical implications.*
J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2001 Aug;86(8):3787-94.
PMID: 11502812 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Bonnet MH, Arand DL.
Hyperarousal and insomnia.
Sleep Med Rev. 1997 Dec;1(2):97-108.
PMID: 15310517 [PubMed - in process]

Bonnet MH, Arand DL.
24-Hour metabolic rate in insomniacs and matched normal sleepers.
Sleep. 1995 Sep;18(7):581-8.
PMID: 8552929

6. Reversibility of sleep

Moshe Feldenkrais
"Reversibility is a feature of all correct action, even sleep...."*
Extract from The Potent Self: A Study of Spontaneity and Compulsion, p. 114.

Graphic: Hypnogram showing distribution of microarousals through the night in a healthy sleeper.

Taylor McNeil
Bring on the Sandman*
Bostonia. Summer 2002

Ekstedt M, Akerstedt T, Soderstrom M.
Microarousals during sleep are associated with increased levels of lipids, cortisol, and blood pressure.*
Psychosom Med. 2004 Nov-Dec;66(6):925-31.
PMID: 15564359 [PubMed - in process]

7. Sleep stability and instability

Graphic: Spectrogram illustrating stable and unstable sleep.

Morton CC
Heart Tracings Reveal Sleep Patterns for Health and Disease: Stable and Unstable Sleep Found Distinct from Traditional Non-REM Stages.*
Harvard Medical School Focus Online, 16 September 2005

Yeh GY, Mietus JE, Peng CK, Phillips RS, Davis RB, Wayne PM, Goldberger AL, Thomas RJ.
Enhancement of sleep stability with Tai Chi exercise in chronic heart failure: Preliminary findings using an ECG-based spectrogram method.
Sleep Med. 2007 Aug 2; [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 17689142

Thomas RJ, Mietus JE, Peng CK, Goldberger AL.
An electrocardiogram-based technique to assess cardiopulmonary coupling during sleep.
Sleep. 2005 Sep 1;28(9):1151-61.
PMID: 16268385

Gilmartin GS, Daly RW, Thomas RJ.
Recognition and management of complex sleep-disordered breathing.
Curr Opin Pulm Med. 2005 Nov;11(6):485-93.
PMID: 16217173

8. Sleep is a hypometabolic state

Trinder J, Whitworth F, Kay A, Wilkin P.
Respiratory instability during sleep onset.
J Appl Physiol. 1992 Dec;73(6):2462-9.
PMID: 1490959

Colrain IM, Trinder J, Fraser G, Wilson GV.
Ventilation during sleep onset.
J Appl Physiol. 1987 Nov;63(5):2067-74.
PMID: 3693239

Kotajima F, Meadows G, Morrell M, Corfield D.
Cerebral blood flow changes associated with fluctuations in alpha and theta rhythm during sleep onset in humans.
J Physiol. 2005 Jul 7; [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 16002438

Balkin TJ, Braun AR, Wesensten NJ, Jeffries K, Varga M, Baldwin P, Belenky G, Herscovitch P.
The process of awakening: a PET study of regional brain activity patterns mediating the re-establishment of alertness and consciousness.*
Brain. 2002 Oct;125(Pt 10):2308-19.
PMID: 12244087

Takahashi K.
[Regional cerebral blood flow and oxygen consumption during normal human sleep]
No To Shinkei. 1989 Sep;41(9):919-25. Japanese.
PMID: 2590561

9. Sleep in Traditional Societies

Tim Batchelder
The cultural biology of sleep*
Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, July, 2002

Bruce Bower
Slumber's Unexplored Landscape: People in traditional societies sleep in eye-opening ways.*
Science News, Vol. 156, No. 13, September 25, 1999, p. 205.

10. Excitation and inhibition

Osmundsen JA
‘Matador’ with a Radio Stops Wired Bull
Modified Behaviour in Animals the Subject of Brain Study
New York Times, 17 May 1965

Sherrington, C. S.
Inhibition as a Coordinative Factor.*
Nobel Lecture, 12 December, 1932.

Sherrington CS
Some Comparisons Between Reflex Inhibition and Reflex Excitation
1908;1;67-78 Q J Exp Physiol

Ivan P. Pavlov. Translated by G. V. Anrep.
Conditioned reflexes: An investigation of the physiological activity of the cerebral cortex
Lecture XV. Internal inhibition and sleep as one and the same process with regard to their intimate mechanism*

Werhahn KJ, Behrang-Nia M, Bott MC, Klimpe S.
Does the recruitment of excitation and inhibition in the motor cortex differ?
J Clin Neurophysiol. 2007 Oct;24(5):419-23.
PMID: 17912067

11. Thoughts can keep you awake

Nelson J, Harvey AG.
Pre-sleep imagery under the microscope: a comparison of patients with insomnia and good sleepers.
Behav Res Ther. 2003 Mar;41(3):273-84.
PMID: 12600399 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Nelson J, Harvey AG.
The differential functions of imagery and verbal thought in insomnia.
J Abnorm Psychol. 2002 Nov;111(4):665-9.
PMID: 12428780 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

12. Meditation and relaxation techniques

Jacobs GD.
Meditation-Based Relaxation Techniques Produce Brain Wave Patterns Similar to Sleep*
talkaboutsleep.com, February 9, 2005

Jacobs GD, Friedman R.
EEG spectral analysis of relaxation techniques.
Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback. 2004 Dec;29(4):245-54.
PMID: 15707254 [PubMed - in process]

Young JD, Taylor E.
Meditation as a Voluntary Hypometabolic State of Biological Estivation.*
News Physiol Sci. 1998 Jun;13:149-153.
PMID: 11390779

13. Interoception

Craig, A.D.
How do you feel? Interoception: the sense of the physiological condition of the body.*
Nature Reviews Neuroscience 3, 655-666 (August 2002)

Craig AD.
Interoception: the sense of the physiological condition of the body.
Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2003 Aug;13(4):500-5. Review.
PMID: 12965300

14. Sleep and Emotions

Killgore WD, Kahn-Greene ET, Lipizzi EL, Newman RA, Kamimori GH, Balkin TJ.
Sleep deprivation reduces perceived emotional intelligence and constructive thinking skills.
Sleep Med. 2007 Aug 29; [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 17765011

Kahn-Greene ET, Killgore DB, Kamimori GH, Balkin TJ, Killgore WD.
The effects of sleep deprivation on symptoms of psychopathology in healthy adults.
Sleep Med. 2007 Apr;8(3):215-21. Epub 2007 Mar 26.
PMID: 17368979

Wampler N
Sleep-deprivation causes an emotional brain 'disconnect'
Cell Press, 22 October 2007

Yoo SS, Gujar N, Hu P, Jolesz FA, Walker MP.
The human emotional brain without sleep - a prefrontal amygdala disconnect.
Curr Biol. 2007 Oct 23;17(20):R877-8.
PMID: 17956744

Fuller KH, Waters WF, Binks PG, Anderson T.
Generalized anxiety and sleep architecture: a polysomnographic investigation.
Sleep. 1997 May;20(5):370-6.
PMID: 9381061 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Mundell EJ
Loneliness Boosts Blood Pressure in Older Adults.*
HealthDay News 28 April 2006

Cacioppo JT, Hawkley LC, Crawford LE, Ernst JM, Burleson MH, Kowalewski RB, Malarkey WB, Van Cauter E, Berntson GG.
Loneliness and health: potential mechanisms.*
Psychosom Med. 2002 May-Jun;64(3):407-17.
PMID: 12021415 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

No author.
Depression, High Stress Costliest Health Risk Factors Among Workers.*
ScienceDaily.com, 19 October 1998.

No author.
Insomnia may precede and prolong major depression*
Brightsurf Science News, 22 June 2005

15. All about Breath

Colrain IM, Trinder J, Fraser G, Wilson GV.
Ventilation during sleep onset.
J Appl Physiol. 1987 Nov;63(5):2067-74.
PMID: 3693239

Lukowiak K, Ringseis E, Spencer G, Wildering W, Syed N.
Operant conditioning of aerial respiratory behaviour in Lymnaea stagnalis
J Exp Biol. 1996;199(Pt 3):683-91.
PMID: 9318425

Two Centers in Brain Command Breathing Rhythm
UCLA (via About.com)

Cappo BM, Holmes DS.
The utility of prolonged respiratory exhalation for reducing physiological and psychological arousal in non-threatening and threatening situations.
J Psychosom Res. 1984;28(4):265-73.
PMID: 6481661

McCaul KD, Solomon S, Holmes DS.
Effects of paced respiration and expectations on physiological and psychological responses to threat.
J Pers Soc Psychol. 1979 Apr;37(4):564-71.
PMID: 448632

Grossman E, Grossman A, Schein MH, Zimlichman R, Gavish B.
Breathing-control lowers blood pressure.
J Hum Hypertens. 2001 Apr;15(4):263-9.
PMID: 11319675

Driscoll D, Dicicco G.
The effects of metronome breathing on the variability of autonomic activity measurements.
J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2000 Nov-Dec;23(9):610-4.
PMID: 11145801

Mitchell GS, Johnson SM.
Neuroplasticity in respiratory motor control.*
J Appl Physiol. 2003 Jan;94(1):358-74. Review.
PMID: 12486024 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]