Monday, November 17, 2008

Sleep positions affect REM sleep?

From Reuters:

This is kind of interesting, my Korean uncle, who's very much the empiricist, always insisted that we should live in houses that face north, for prosperity. And our bed is likewise on the north-south axis. MAN FERTILITY and I always complain when we have to travel that we never sleep well....hm, and then it's always lights-out the minute we get back into our own bed.

From Reuters:

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Grazing cattle and sleeping deer tend to align their bodies along the North-South axis of the Earth's magnetic field, European researchers said on Monday, giving new meaning to the phrase animal magnetism....

They found that whether grazing or resting, these animals face either magnetic North or South. And since the direction of the wind and sun varied widely where the images were taken, the researchers believe the Earth's magnetic field to be the polarizing factor...

Some studies suggest humans who sleep in an East-West position have far shorter rapid eye movement or REM sleep cycles, in which dreams occur, compared with North-South sleepers who got more REM sleep.

read more here.