Bul Bul Nest

The young ones have gone.

Nest of the Bul Bul

This is not the nest of the Munia, the Twitter.
It is too big.
Judging by the visitor birds, it is probably a Bul Bul Nest.
Twitter makes a nest from a single leaf folded.
I have a picture of twitter Nest in this blog site.

American Brain Waves

Reproduction

American Brain Waves

I have chosen the above title to show how we follow the American Hegemony.
The Current need is alternative Energy Sources! 
We are not investing on Solar Power.
Why I do not know?

Below are two my old pieces reproduced.
They are in a private domain and not visible in public domain.

Human Destiny 

It looks likes human needs take paramount importance. 
The needs of other living beings on this planet is no concern.
Human needs are not measured by bare existence but by uncontrolled desire, greed and exploitation of the very environment he lives in.

He is not very responsible but very erratic in behaviour.
He explores and expands both in numbers and the spheres of influence.
 
When the going is good he expands and when the going is bad he perseveres at the expense of all other beings.

Human is the only species known to eats its own beings and all the other edible beings.

He does not spare anything that this earth can offer,
 
When the going is good it is Lancashire hotpot with lamb but when the going is bad it is only potato hotpot.

His culinary desires which includes cannibalism speaks of his destructive nature.

How can we say he is a rational being?

Only rationality is his own existence at the expense of sometimes his own fellow beings.

Rat race and nothing but rat race.

That is the virtue of all powerful capitalism, power and wealth.

There is something wrong in this simple equation.

Expand, exploit and try to gain control at every advantage point.

He does not learn lessons from the past,
 
40 years ago in 1973, when oil price hike followed after the Middle est conflict he was ill prepared.

I saw what that meant for our children.

Thousands and thousand of children died of starvation and illness.

We are not ready for its repetition.

This time it is the global warming which is going to precipitate it.

40 years ago it was oil and energy and thereafter the food crisis.

When there is scarcity we tend to invest more on the same resource instead of changing to alternative resources.

In fact after the last oil crisis we had being using oil at a rate far more energetic than before.

We were not ready for the global warming.

In fact we did all to precipitate it.

Then there will be a Youth Bubble.
 
The rich dictators were not receptive to the needs of the poor while piling up money for their own fantasies.

How can we say man is rational.

His greed dictates the front line.
The ones who are behind the line or sitting on the bench have no say.

Unfortunately this equation is going to change.

Be prepared the human, the stupid exploiter.
 
Forest Harvesting
I was bit inquisitive why there are so many tornadoes and hurricanes in America.

I just went to Google Earth and had a little peep from above of North America’s, the West and the East.

There is hardly any difference in tree cover over the land, East or West.

Mostly farmland and build up areas.

That did not give me any clue to the state of the forest cover.

Then I went and searched deforestation.

Americans harvested 90% of the land in 70 years from 1850 to 1920.
Entire East was covered with Forest and fair proportion of the West was covered with primary forest. 
The deforestation continued to this century and America now has mainly secondary forest covering 10% of the land.
American knew that the CO2 problem started around 1920 and continues even today due to their exploitation of fossil fuel.

Did they tell the truth to the world?

Big No.

In Sri-Lanka we had 90% forest cover until around 1850 and British started deforestation for coffee and tea cultivation. 

By the time they left in 1948 forest cover was over 60% but before they left they pass a law prohibiting encroachment of the Crown Land.

From 1948 to 2000 we have decimated another 40 percent especially after 1970.

We are now below the minimal threshold of 25% to maintain our rivers.

This land now can be called the People’s Land instead of the Crown Land and the tree felling and the development go on.

When the thermal power plant is operational we will be approaching 10% level which is the cut off point for desert classification.

Acid rain will do the rest even we stop cutting to Zero.

Then we can say we are better than America in case of deforestation and go for an IMF loan.
Very soon we will be no different from Dubai.

Regards to American tornadoes and hurricanes trees act as a wind breaks and control the water cycle better. 
They should reforest America back to 1920 or continue to have this cycle every year.

Problem is there is no country rich American can go to avoid hurricanes since rest of the world is no better including China.

This is what I call the development of the Earth Crisis.

The prediction that world ends in 2012 should be rephrased that "The irreversible loss of biodiversity is in full swing from now onward with the global warming well established and irreversible."

We Sri-Lanksn will be drilling oil with Indian help till sun goes down.

Lessons for Ceylon from President Trump’s Impeachment

Lessons for Ceylon from President Trump’s Impeachment

I will make a strategic install for future reference for political analysis later but let me say what will happen in America (my gut feelings).

In America, there are three institutions, the Senate, The House and the Judiciary.

Currently Executive Presidency is above two of those institutions except the Judiciary.

The judiciary is independent and see what is happening to former FBI director and the whistle -blowers.

Outcome

1. Republican party will win a working majority both in Senate and House in 2020. They do not need 2/3rd majority.

2. President Trump will keep his promises to the masses who voted for him and will vote for him.

3.Democratic party will try to pull the rug under and maintain a low status quo (no quit for pro at all) to stop him in vain.

4. President Trump will sail through the obstacles in his second term much more vigorously than in his first term.

5. He will leave white house for good not leaving his children or in laws as heir to the "Throne".

6. Mrs. Nacncy Pelosi and Mr. Joe Biden will bite the dust blown by the impeachment fiasco.

In Ceylon we have only one whistle blower with credible recordings unlike in US.

He is called Mr. Ranjan Ramanayake and he is in Prison for whistling a bit of data.

1. In Ceylon S.L.P.P might come into power well short of two third majority (thanks to RR=Raja) in parliament in 2020. 

The S.L.F.P will be on course for a natural and slow death under M.S.

Thanks to using National ID that rigging is impossible but intimidation of military style will happen in the North and the East.

2. Winning S.L.P.P. will not keep it promises after the election due to the Debt Trap of their own creation.

3. Losing U.N.P. and J.V.P. cannot pull the rug under due to military style discipline by those in power and media moguls.

4. MR won’t be able to sail through the Debt Trap.

China and India will exploit the Ceylon Predicament and own valuable assets (airports, ports and sea) and will compete with USA for strategic exploitation of our weaknesses.

The I.M.F. will look the other way due to L.T.T.E. inputs.

5. MR and his exclusive family members want to ascend to the heir and owners of the throne. 
 

5. Buddhist monks will encroach on civil liberty like in Myanmar and want to keep this family on the throne and all other religions will have to be subservient (no freedom for worship, no freedom to speak, and no ability to escape from poverty). 
But these monks will become fat both in size and political pull.
The bottom line scenario is for the average voter to be so poor with only hand to mouth existence, so that the rich can acquire more merits by giving them crumbs and leftovers after they place this family on the throne for ever.
Prosperity for a limited few and absolute poverty for the rest.

Now my "Strategic Install" or input for budding politicians!

1. Form a coalition for abolishing the Post of Presidency and sending all culprits of Auditor General report to prison just like they sent R.R. to prison for listening to private data.

Getting the 50% is chicken feed; the disadvantages and lack of checks and balances of the constitution (unlike in America) has been evaluated in detail for over 20 years.

Judiciary is not (R.Rs assertion) independent but thorn (not a jewel) in the flesh of democracy (according to Victor Ivan only the Podians (4% of the total convictions go to prison) go to the jail and Bond Scams and Auditor General’s independent report will gather dust.

This happens, the moment the parliament is dissolved.

I believe L.T.T.E came into existence due to J.R.J’s stupid constitution.

2. We do not need 2/3rd majority now that the L.T.T.E and J.V.P. are no more a threat.

3. Only threat is going back to J.R.J’s constitution or making a much more worse constitution to please Buddhist Monks and installing a new king with Dasa Raja Dhamma (failed J.R.J exercise).

I do not know where Victor Ivan stands politically on these issues, now.

Dirty Tricks by Default (Gossip)

Bar room gossip has caused Time, Money and Resources of American Tax Payers Money.

This reproduction is for me to keep track of the forerunner of Impeachment of President Donald Trump!

He stands tall now for his forbearance, that he may have learned not in politics BUT in business!

Reproduction 

In its initial 2016 FISA warrant application, the FBI flatly called Page "an agent of a foreign power." 

Sources told Fox News last month that U.S. Attorney John Durham's separate, ongoing probe into potential FBI and Justice Department misconduct in the run-up to the 2016 election through the spring of 2017 has transitioned into a full-fledged criminal investigation -- and that Horowitz's report will shed light on why Durham's probe has become a criminal inquiry.

FBI AGENTS MANIPULATED FLYNN FILE, AS CLAPPER ORDERED 'KILL SHOT,' FILING SAYS
Durham has reportedly taken up Horowitz's findings concerning the falsified FISA document, meaning the ex-FBI lawyer who made the changes is now under criminal investigation. The Post indicated, however, that the document was not central to the legality of the FISA warrant obtained against Page.
Republicans have long argued that the FBI's alleged FISA abuses, which came as the bureau aggressively pursued ultimately unsubstantiated claims of criminal links between the Trump team and Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign, were politically motivated. 
In recent months, a series of unearthed documents has strengthened those claims.
Just nine days before the FBI applied for its first FISA warrant to surveil Page, bureau officials were battling with a senior Justice Department official who had "continued concerns" about the "possible bias" of a source pivotal to the application, according to internal text messages previously obtained by Fox News.

FBI email chain may provide most damning evidence of FISA abuses yet

By John Solomon Opinion Contributor
Just before Thanksgiving, House Republicans amended the list of documents they’d like President Trump to declassify in the Russia investigation. With little fanfare or explanation, the lawmakers, led by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), added a string of emails between the FBI and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to their wish list.
Sources tell me the targeted documents may provide the most damning evidence to date of potential abuses of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), evidence that has been kept from the majority of members of Congress for more than two years.
The email exchanges included then-FBI Director James Comey, key FBI investigators in the Russia probe and lawyers in the DOJ’s national security division, and they occurred in early to mid-October, before the FBI successfully secured a FISA warrant to spy on Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.
The email exchanges show the FBI was aware — before it secured the now-infamous warrant — that there were intelligence community concerns about the reliability of the main evidence used to support it: the Christopher Steele dossier.
The exchanges also indicate FBI officials were aware that Steele, the former MI6 British intelligence operative then working as a confidential human source for the bureau, had contacts with news media reporters before the FISA warrant was secured.
The FBI fired Steele on Nov. 1, 2016 — two weeks after securing the warrant — on the grounds that he had unauthorized contacts with the news media.
But the FBI withheld from the American public and Congress, until months later, that Steele had been paid to find his dirt on Trump by a firm doing political opposition research for the Democratic Party and for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and that Steele himself harbored hatred for Trump.
If the FBI knew of his media contacts and the concerns about the reliability of his dossier before seeking the warrant, it would constitute a serious breach of FISA regulations and the trust that the FISA court places in the FBI.
That’s because the FBI has an obligation to certify to the court before it approves FISA warrants that its evidence is verified, and to alert the judges to any flaws in its evidence or information that suggest the target might be innocent.
We now know the FBI used an article from Yahoo News as independent corroboration for the Steele dossier when, in fact, Steele had talked to the news outlet.
If the FBI knew Steele had that media contact before it submitted the article, it likely would be guilty of circular intelligence reporting, a forbidden tactic in which two pieces of evidence are portrayed as independent corroboration when, in fact, they originated from the same source.
These issues are why the FBI email chain, kept from most members of Congress for the past two years, suddenly landed on the declassification list.
The addition to the list also comes at a sensitive time, as House Republicans prepare on Friday to question Comey, who signed off on the FISA warrant while remaining an outlier in the intelligence community about the Steele dossier.
Most intelligence officials, such as former CIA Director John Brennan and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, have embraced the concerns laid out in the Steele dossier of possible — but still unproven — collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Yet, 10 months after the probe started and a month after Robert Mueller was named special counsel in the Russia probe, Comey cast doubt on the the Steele dossier, calling it “unverified” and “salacious” in sworn testimony before Congress.
Former FBI lawyer Lisa Page further corroborated Comey’s concerns in recent testimony before House lawmakers, revealing that the FBI had not corroborated the collusion charges by May 2017, despite nine months of exhaustive counterintelligence investigation.
Lawmakers now want to question Comey about whether the information in the October email string contributed to the former FBI director’s assessment.
The question long has lingered about when the doubts inside the FBI first surfaced about the allegations in the Steele dossier.
Sources tell me the email chain provides the most direct evidence that the bureau, and possibly the DOJ, had reasons to doubt the Steele dossier before the FISA warrant was secured.
Sources say the specifics of the email chain remain classified, but its general sentiments about the Steele dossier and the media contacts have been discussed in nonclassified settings.
“If these documents are released, the American public will have clear and convincing evidence to see the FISA warrant that escalated the Russia probe just before Election Day was flawed and the judges [were] misled,” one knowledgeable source told me.
Congressional investigators also have growing evidence that some evidence inserted into the fourth and final application for the FISA — a document signed by current Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein — was suspect.
Nunes hinted as much himself in comments he made on Sean Hannity’s Fox News TV show on Nov. 20, when he disclosed the FBI email string was added to the declassification request. The release of the documents will “give finality to everyone who wants to know what their government did to a political campaign” and verify that the Trump campaign did not collude with Russia during the election, Nunes said.
As more of the secret evidence used to justify the Russia probe becomes public, an increasingly dark portrait of the FBI’s conduct emerges.
The bureau, under a Democratic-controlled Justice Department, sought a warrant to spy on the duly nominated GOP candidate for president in the final weeks of the 2016 election, based on evidence that was generated under a contract paid by his political opponent.
That evidence, the Steele dossier, was not fully vetted by the bureau and was deemed unverified months after the warrant was issued.
At least one news article was used in the FISA warrant to bolster the dossier as independent corroboration when, it fact, it was traced to a news organization that had been in contact with Steele, creating a high likelihood it was circular intelligence reporting.
And the entire warrant, the FBI’s own document shows, was being rushed to approval by two agents who hated Trump and stated in their own texts that they wanted to “stop” the Republican from becoming president.
If ever there were grounds to investigate the investigators, these facts provide the justification.
Director Comey and Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein likely hold the answers, as do the still-classified documents.
It’s time all three be put under a public microscope.
 
John Solomon is an award-winning investigative journalist whose work over the years has exposed U.S. and FBI intelligence failures before the Sept. 11 attacks, federal scientists’ misuse of foster children and veterans in drug experiments and numerous cases of political corruption. 

He is The Hill’s executive vice president for video.

Escape from Wisdom

Escape from Wisdom

This does not come from Dhamma Pada but as a creative opinion of no authorship (perhaps life experience).

It is a crime to make a temple (any denomination) a political institution instead of “Bedrock of Emancipation”.

Monks (applies to political guys garbed in saffron cloth) and priests who device these instruments are enigmatic and sordid souls!

Then the Saffron cloth (becomes) is no different from guys and girls who sport political colour in public places.

I think they should wear blue, green or red garbs instead.

Face Masks and Hand Washing

Face Masks and Hand Washing
Below is a reproduction from a web site.
I wrote a long piece during the last episode of "Chicken Flu" and unfortunately (covering even Ebola virus) I could not trace it back.
Most important fact is hand washing with soap and water.
Even AIDS virus dies with bit of soap.
Other two best antiseptics are vinegar and lime juice. 
Please do not go for detergents (Coca Cola is the best for the toilet pan) but use Coca Cola to flush your commode at the end of the day.
Please do not eat eggs coming from an unhealthy (I do not think eggs transmit the virus but could be contaminated by a soul who is incubating the disease) farm.
Now these diseases originate (there are similar farms even in Kandy City) from farms (egg farms included) that are maintained poorly and horrendously cruel to the birds.
Best action is to become a vegetarian and go for Tofu!
My son is a living example who is practising the correct virtues!

Reproduction
ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
As the Wuhan coronavirus spreads, cities in China and other parts of Asia are reportedly running out of face masks. NPR's Maria Godoy looked into whether a mask can protect you from the virus.
MARIA GODOY, BYLINE: First, let's distinguish what kinds of face masks we're talking about. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that health care workers interacting with a coronavirus patient wear a heavy-duty mask called an N95 respirator. They're designed to block small particles from entering the nose and mouth.
Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University Medical Center says wearing an N95 is serious business.
WILLIAM SCHAFFNER: We have to be fit-tested. We have to demonstrate that we know how to put them on and wear them. And they're difficult to wear. That's the kind of protection that really works.
GODOY: But what most people on the streets are wearing is something else - cheap, disposable surgical masks. And Schaffner says the evidence that these masks protect against infection is meager.
SCHAFFNER: The general sense is perhaps, but they're certainly not an absolute protection.
RAINA MACINTYRE: A mask will protect you against a visible splash or spray of fluid or large droplets. It's just a physical barrier.
GODOY: Raina MacIntyre is an infectious disease researcher at the University of New South Wales in Australia. She's studied the efficacy of face masks. She says surgical masks don't provide a tight fit. Small airborne particles can still get through. But her research suggests surgical masks can lower the risk of getting infected if you're at home in close contact with a family member who has a respiratory illness, but only if you wear the mask right.
MACINTYRE: Which means wearing it all the time when you're in the same room as the infected person.
GODOY: And being careful not to touch the front of the mask when removing it. Otherwise, you could end up contaminating yourself.
As for wearing a surgical mask outdoors in public, Marybeth Sexton of the Emory University School of Medicine says that's not necessary if you're in the U.S. or another country where the risk of catching the Wuhan coronavirus is considered low.
MARYBETH SEXTON: When you're out in the open air, you've got a lot of good airflow. It's really going to be in enclosed spaces with people who are contagious that you have the most risk of transmission.
GODOY: She says wearing a face mask is a good idea if you're ill and need to go see the doctor, but that's really to keep you from getting other people sick. Otherwise, she says, leave the face masks for the people who need them, like health care workers and people with symptoms, so we don't end up with mask shortages.
Raina MacIntyre says the calculation of whether to wear a face mask is different for people in a place like Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the current outbreak.
MACINTYRE: If it's someone in Wuhan, where most of the cases have been, then there might be some value to it. There's a lot of unknowns about this infection. That's the problem.
GODOY: And wherever you are, there is something that all the infectious disease experts I spoke with recommend we all do to keep from getting sick - wash your hands a lot.
SCHAFFNER: Hand-washing for sure - constantly, frequently, all the time; summer, winter, whatever.
GODOY: Maria Godoy, NPR News.

Preparation for Concentration / Focus for Moment Meditation

Preparation for Concentration / Focus for Moment Meditation

1. Do not Think of the Past (I have not finished my work)

2. Do not Think of the Future (I have lot of things to do)

3. Do not let the mind drift (a mosquito hovering)

4. Do not say it is warm (dress appropriately but do not look for a fan)

5. Do not say it is cold (dress appropriately but do not look for a heater)

6. Do not be lazy

7. Avoid company (If one cannot avoid not more than five for a group)

8. Do not look for solitude

9. Be aware of the current setting (if you are in a bus find a corner and pretend you read a book/note)

10. Be aware of the current physical need (voiding, hunger, physical disability)

If there is a hindrance (as you may perceive it), do not react to it but accept it as a fickle and passing episode like quicksilver.

Then any place is good for moment meditation.

If you are not meditating, just focus and do what you have to do in the present moment to the best of your capability.

In a sense your mind is in a Moment Mediation Mode (3M).

If one practises these few principles with diligence and awareness, getting into moment meditation becomes just a habit not a “result seeking work” endeavor.

One's productivity in what ever one does goes up by the minute.

It is not easy but one has to practice and become adept at it.

Then you do not need a guru and you become a master and not a slave of a rigid protocol dispensed by an unprepared master.

Slippery “Banana Bat Story” or the “Fruit Bat Story” of Ebola

Slippery “Banana Bat Story” or the “Fruit Bat Story” of Ebola

It is easy to get Ebola from a banana kept in the veranda / porch for ripening.

These are the steps.

1.The bats (who are staving in the wild due to deforestation, now venture into houses for food) come at night, and land on a tray containing banana.

2. It accidentally drops an ornamental ceramic on the floor shattering it and scattering the pieces on the floor.

3. House wife eats banana from the bunch and discovers a piece of banana on the floor and her prized ornamental ceramic on the floor.

She picks one piece and in the process cuts her tender fingers in the left hand.

She immediately touches the wound with the right hand fingers smeared with (contaminated by the bat) banana fruit contaminated with bat's saliva.

4. Then she washes her hand and wipes her face with a towel hung over night for drying.

Unfortunately, she does not know that bat's thick fruity dropping had been on it.

(She loves fruity aroma of her make-up.)

5. She had high dose of virus (minute dose of virus is enough to cause disease) in her BLOOD, BOWEL and her FACE.

She is downed with fever and later hemorrhage and was diagnosed as Dengue and was not isolated and she contaminates the entire intensive care unit.

The first case of Ebola in this country of ours was misdiagnosed.

The disease spread by our bats into the villages.

The government orders the extermination of bats and in this pretext clears, the remaining rain forest.

Poor Sri-Lankans in the cities catch the bats trapped on the giant electric wires and eat them as a delicacy.

The entire island is now on full alert and the politicians leave the country on the pretext of international Ebola conference and never return.

The Ebola has saved this country from corrupt politicians.

The caveat is one should not eat slippery banana and should not slip away from this country.

The citizens are considered a high risk population (on this planet) except politicians and are trapped in this island enclave for ever.

Pepe, The People's President (Mewa Lankawe Venne Nane)

From BBC (Mewa Lankawe Venne Nane)
Pepe, The People's President
Uruguay's President Jose Mujica says he has been offered $1m (£630,000) for his vintage Volkswagen Beetle.
Mr Mujica, once dubbed "the poorest president in the world" because of his modest lifestyle, said the offer had come from an Arab sheikh.
He told the weekly Busqueda magazine that if he did accept the offer, the money would be used to help the poor.
President Mujica - popularly known as Pepe - lives on a ramshackle farm and gives away most of his pay.
In 2010, his annual personal wealth declaration - mandatory for officials in Uruguay - was $1,800, the value of his blue 1987 Beetle.
Busqueda reported that the offer for the car was made at an international summit earlier this year in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.
"They made me an offer," Mr Mujica, 79, told the magazine.
"I was a bit surprised, and at first I really didn't pay too much attention to it. But later, another offer came in, and I began to take it a little more seriously."
Jose Mujica has lived in his wife's farmhouse rather than in the presidential palace
The president said he had "no commitment to cars" and would happily auction it.
He joked that he had not sold it so far because he needed it for his dog Manuela, famous for only having three legs.
Mr Mujica said that if he got $1m for the car, he would donate it to a programme he supports that provides housing for the homeless.
President Mujica is barred by the constitution from running for a second consecutive term and a presidential election held last month is to go to a second round.
A recent survey gave Mr Mujica an approval rating of nearly 60%.

Sleep and Biorhythms

Please DO NOT translate this to SINHALA

Reproduction

by Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D. 

 

Updated September 18, 2019

Why a Coffee Power Nap Works

You're tired, but you don't have time to really sleep. Rather than taking a power nap or grabbing a cup of coffee, try taking a coffee power nap. Here's what a coffee power nap is and why it actually leaves you feeling more refreshed and awake than either a power nap or a cup of coffee or even a nap followed by coffee.

What Is a Coffee Power Nap?

You know what coffee is, but it might be helpful to review the power nap concept. A power nap is a short nap (15-20 minutes) that takes you into stage 2 sleep. It's just long enough to stave off some of the worst effects of sleep deprivation or exhaustion, but not so long that it drags you into slow wave sleep (SLS) or deep sleep, which would leave you feeling groggy if you ended it too soon (sleep inertia). Research has shown that even a 6-10 minute nap helps improve concentration, alertness, motor performance, and learning, while a 30 minute nap confers the benefits of a full sleep cycle, markedly reducing fatigue and reversing much of the physiological damage of sleep deprivation.

A coffee power nap or caffeine power nap is when you drink coffee or a caffeinated beverage right before settling down for your nap.

How a Coffee Power Nap Works

The short explanation is that it takes about 20 minutes for caffeine to jolt your system and 45 minutes before it reaches maximum effect. So, the caffeine doesn't keep you from falling asleep, but it's there to boost your performance the minute you wake up.

Here's the longer explanation: When you drink coffee or tea or your favorite energy drink, the caffeine is absorbed into your blood stream through the walls of the small intestine. From there, the molecule travels to your brain, binding to the receptors that would accept adenosine, a molecule that accumulates when you are tired and causes you to feel sleepy. So, about 20 minutes after taking it, caffeine helps you feel more awake because additional adensoine can't find a binding location. When you sleep, even if it's just a quick nap, your body naturally clears the adenosine from the neural receptors. This is why you feel more awake after a nap.

When you drink coffee and take a nap, the sleep clears the adenosine so you wake up feeling refreshed, and then the caffeine kicks in and blocks the receptors so you won't get tired again as quickly. Plus, caffeine boosts your metabolism and gives you all those other great stimulant side effects. It's a win-win situation.

How Do We Know It Works?

Scientists can't get into your brain to see the neural receptors and measure binding rates, but the effects of the coffee power naps have been observed. One study conducted by scientists at Loughborough University in the UK found that tired study participants made fewer mistakes in a driving simulator following a 15-minute coffee power nap. They got the benefits of the nap even if they reported having trouble falling asleep. Japanese researchers found test subjects performed better on memory tests and felt more rested following caffeine naps. The Japanese study also indicated exposure to bright light following a nap or washing your face could help wake you up.
Of course, I advise you to conduct your own experiment to test out the coffee nap for yourself!

How To Take a Coffee Nap

1. Drink coffee or tea containing 100-200 mg of caffeine. Don't add sugar or milk. If you choose an energy drink, go sugar-free or else the surge in blood glucose levels may keep you from falling asleep. Alternatively, you could take a caffeine pill.
2. Set your alarm for 20 minutes. Don't go past 30 minutes because the coffee nap works best if you're awake when the caffeine hits your system.
3. Relax. Sleep. Enjoy. It helps to wear an eye mask or turn out the lights. It's okay if you can't fall all the way asleep. Research indicates even deep relaxation, such as meditation, makes a big difference.
4. Wake up feeling refreshed!

References

Anahad O'Connor, October 31, 2011, The New York Times, Really? The Claim: For a More Restful Nap, Avoid Caffeine, Retrieved Aug. 21, 2015.

Rose Eveleth, Smithsonian magazine, October 24, 2013, What Is the Exactly Perfect Time to Drink Your Coffee?, Retrieved Aug. 21, 2015.

Corrie Pikul, September 27, 2012, Oprah magazine, 6 More Health Myths—Busted!, Retrieved Aug. 21, 2015.

Like this? You may also be interested in whether coffee can really sober up a drunk.

Sleep and Biorhythms

This is in response to a Sinhala Translation of an English article in a weekly paper.

He forgets that mosquitoes are the biggest menace to our sleep and wake cycle.

This is why Ceylonese are very irritant (watch them when they travel in buses and trains, dosing)

Catch Some Extra Z's

My body basically just shuts down when I'm sick, allowing me to sleep way more than the normal seven to eight hours. 
If you're starting to feel run down, one of the best things you can do is schedule yourself a little bit more time for rest. 
"Sleep is my most reliable defense against infection," says David Katz, founder of the Yale University Prevention Research Center and author of Disease-Proof. "Research shows that our bodies need seven to eight hours of sleep in order to stimulate an immune response from our 'natural killer cells,' which attack viruses."

After almost 50 years of medical career both in academic and in practice in various disciplines including geriatrics, I still do not understand fully how memory works and why we need at least (in a 24 hour day and night cycle) 8 hours of sleep.
I love sleep in two breaks (one hour of evening nap and 7 hours of night nap in my full retirement).
I wake up exactly after 7 hours and make a cup of tea and get my cellphone and play kids game until the sun shines and come out to listen to the melody of all the birds in my roof top garden.
They even make nests there and my favorite is the nasty little Munia or the Twitter!
It is a fearless bird!
My biorhythm is FIXED and probably in other human beings, too.
According to the writer (quoted from American research) testosterone is to blamed for all the ills.

BIG NO!

Mind you I do not fully understand how the hormones and nano-molecules change in day to day cycles.

The Growth Hormone and Melatonin are the ones that matter not testosterone.
Mind you working mothers, athletes and female managers also suffer from sleep problems.
They have less testosterone in their system and female athletes have more testosterone and their menstrual cycle can go haywire!
Mind you testosterone is a slight variation of estrogen and all are derivatives of cholesterol which is a very important molecule and treating with statin causes dementia in old age.
Now let me blast the CIA and the Drug industry (by the way, it is not an anti-American strategy).
99% of the Americans are good souls.
They mind their own business and I even begin to like President Trump.
I hated Clintans (he was impeached) and democrats!

In my opinion impeachment of President Trump is a bizarre “Witch Hunt”.


Let me deal with the CIA.
1.They had a university (now closed) that trained assassins, to kill Russian spies (Mind you I think and believe, Russia still conducts these experiments to this day. China had been doing this for ages under closed doors and use and export prostitutes even to Ceylon).

2. Sleeping pills and mood enhancing drugs were the byproducts.

3. The biggest conspiracy was the anti-cholesterol drugs, the statins.
I have written a lot about this and educated even my batch mates in high places.
Cholesterol is a vital agent and lowering it causes dementia.
It is in all the cells (brain included) inside and outside on the cell membrane.
It an anti-oxidant sink in many ways.
It needs receptors to bind it and macrophages (in chronic inflammations) make alternative receptors to bind oxidized cholesterol irreversibly (in chronic inflammation, especially) and depletes cellular recycling.
Macrophages, I believe never die unlike other cell which has 50 cell cycles from conception to death.

4. Do not eat eggs due to high cholesterol had misfired and now they are revising their dietetics.

Egg is a wholesome food especially for children.

Feel Good Factors and Sleep

1. DHEA

Our body naturally produces the hormone dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in the adrenal gland. In turn, DHEA helps produce other hormones, including testosterone and estrogen.

Natural DHEA levels peak in early adulthood and then slowly fall as one ages.

A synthetic version of DHEA is available for oral use, as a tablet, and a topical cream.

Often touted as an anti-aging therapy, DHEA is also claimed to ward off chronic illness and improve physical performance.

2. Serotonin

Serotonin helps regulate your mood naturally.

When your serotonin levels are normal, you feel:

happier
calmer
more focused
less anxious
more emotionally stable

What is serotonin?

Serotonin is a chemical nerve cells produce.

It sends signals between your nerve cells. Serotonin is found mostly in the digestive system. It’s also present in blood platelets and throughout the central nervous system.

Serotonin is made from the essential amino acid tryptophan. All essential amino acids must come from one's diet and is commonly found in foods such as nuts, cheese, and red meat.
Tryptophan deficiency can lead to lower serotonin levels.

The deficiency could result in mood disorders, such as anxiety or depression.

What does serotonin do?

Serotonin impacts every part of the body, from the emotions to motor skills. Serotonin is considered a natural mood stabilizer. It’s the chemical that helps with sleeping, eating, and digesting. Serotonin also helps:

reduce depression
regulate anxiety
heal wounds
stimulate nausea
maintain bone health

3. What Is GABA?

The Brain-Boosting GABA

What Is GABA?

Gamma-aminobutyric acid, also known as GABA, is a neurotransmitter that helps send messages between the brain and the nervous system.

It is produced in the brain from glutamate. This process is catalyzed by the active form of vitamin B6 and the enzyme glutamate decarboxylase (GAD).

Its main function is to reduce the activity of nerve cells in the nervous system. A good amount of emerging research has found that it could play a role in many conditions, including depression, anxiety and stress.

Gamma-aminobutyric acid is thought to have a natural calming effect and is believed to reduce feelings of of anxiety and fear by decreasing neuronal excitability.

It is often used as a natural supplement to promote sleep, improve mood and ease premenstrual symptoms.

GABA Uses and Benefits

1. Relieves Anxiety
2. Improves Sleep
3. Reduces Depression Symptoms
4. Relieves Symptoms of PMS
5. Decreases Inflammation
6. Improves Focus in ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)
7. Increases Levels of Growth Hormone
   

4. What Are Endorphins?

They are responsible for the all-encompassing sense of happiness we sometimes feel.

Endorphins are a category of neurotransmitters that the body uses as an internal pain killer. A 1995 study (Harte et al) published in the Biological Psychology Journal tested the neurochemical release of two groups — 11 elite runners and 12 highly trained meditators — after running and meditation, respectively.

What did they find?

Both groups’ endorphin levels were greatly elevated.

Perhaps even more amazing, meditation's "feel-good effect" scored even higher than running!

Joggers have coined the term "runners high" to describe how wonderful the endorphin rush feels after a nice, long run. This happy, zen-like, alert state of bliss can be a powerful and highly pleasurable experience, going a long way to explain why so many runners are addicted to their sport.

Luckily, this wonderful mind-state is readily found through meditation. Maybe it is time for meditators to come up with a cool phrase for how good they feel after meditation?

What Are Endorphins

Endorphins are the popular term for chemical substances known as “opiate peptides.”

Which neurochemicals qualify as “endorphins,” and what do endorphins do exactly?

Endorphins include enkephalins and dynorphins, substances associated with feelings of pleasure, sexuality/sensually, euphoria and pain relief. Essentially, endorphins promote a sort of “bliss,” providing a sense of well-being.

Low levels of endorphins are associated with the opposite effects: physical and emotional pain (including chronic pain linked to disorders like fibromyalgia), addiction and higher incidence of risk taking behaviors.

When one talks about endorphins, they’re also referring to other neurotransmitters besides opiate peptides, including dopamine and serotonin.

Here’s a quick overview of how endorphins are released?

Medically speaking, we refer to chemical messengers of the mind that cause emotions as neurotransmitters. Endorphins are manufactured by the central nervous system (your brain, spinal cord and nerves that connect to many other parts of your body). Through the production of certain neurotransmitters, the pituitary gland of the brain gets the signal to release particular endorphins depending on the situation, which then bind to neuron receptors. There’s also evidence that the immune system releases certain endorphins based on rising levels of inflammation, which is a mechanism useful for dulling pain.

5. Melatonin

The hormone melatonin plays a role in the natural sleep-wake cycle. Natural levels of melatonin in the blood are highest at night. Some research suggests that melatonin supplements might be helpful in treating sleep disorders, such as delayed sleep phase, and providing some relief from insomnia and jet lag.

Melatonin is generally safe for short-term use. Unlike with many sleep medications, with melatonin one is unlikely to become dependent, have a diminished response after repeated use (habituation), or experience a hangover effect.

What is melatonin?

Melatonin is a hormone made by the pineal gland , a small gland in the brain. Melatonin helps control the sleep and wake cycles. Very small amounts of it are found in foods such as meats, grains, fruits, and vegetables. One can buy it as a supplement.

What does natural melatonin do in the body?

The body has its own internal clock that controls the natural cycle of sleeping and waking hours. In part, the body clock controls how much melatonin the body makes. Normally, melatonin levels begin to rise in the mid- to late evening, remain high for most of the night, and then drop in the early morning hours.

Light affects how much melatonin the body produces. During the shorter days of the winter months, the body may produce melatonin either earlier or later in the day than usual.
This change can lead to symptoms of seasonal affective disorder (SAD), or winter depression.

Natural melatonin levels slowly drop with age.

Some older adults make very small amounts of it or none at all.

Why is melatonin used as a dietary supplement?

Melatonin supplements are sometimes used to treat jet lag or sleep problems (insomnia).
Scientists are also looking at other good uses for melatonin, such as:

Treating seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
Helping to control sleep patterns for people who work night shifts.
Preventing or reducing problems with sleeping and confusion after surgery.
Reducing chronic cluster headaches.

6. Human Growth Hormone

Benefits of Human Growth Hormone

Human growth hormone can be injected in larger doses to promote weight loss and increase muscle size while a small doses can be used for general recovery, health and ignite the anti-aging process. Presently, there is a growing list of benefits of HGH treatment in children, adolescents and adults, such as:

1. Increased Muscle Strength

Human growth hormone has been known to improve physical capacity of individuals through stimulating collagen synthesis in the skeletal muscle and tendons, increasing muscle strength and improving exercise performance as a result.

In the International Journal of Endocrinology, a study with 14 healthy men at the ages of 50 to 70 were randomized into two groups. Seven subjects were administered HGH therapy with seven placebo subjects, and they were re-evaluated after six months. After six months, there was a significant increase in the leg press responsiveness muscles in the growth hormone group.

Overall, the study concluded an increased muscle strength in the lower body after human growth hormone was administered in healthy men. In HGH-deficient adults, participants who were administered long-term HGH therapy experienced normalization of muscle strength, increased exercise capacity, and improved thermoregulation and body composition.

2. Better Fracture Healing

Numerous of local growth factors and hormones are responsible for regulating mineral and bone metabolism, along with fracture healing. Administration of human growth hormone has been shown to speed up the regeneration of bone, making it a key part of bone healing. Applying growth factors like IGF-1 is known to stimulate the metabolism of bone.

In a study published in the journal BONE, growth hormone was systemically applied to recombinant species-specific rats by subcutaneous injections and was compared to the placebo group. As a result, the local growth factor application revealed a stronger effect on fracture healing than the systemic human growth hormone injection. These observations suggest that the local application of growth hormone speeds up fracture healing significantly without systemic adverse effects.

Human growth hormone plays a crucial role in the repair of wear and tear and expedites healing. Researchers have reported the beneficial effects of HGH in enhancing the healing of injuries and wounds significantly. A randomized, controlled, double-blinded study for six months of HGH therapy or placebo in 28 healthy older men with low baseline plasma IGF-1 was conducted at the University of California’s Department of Medicine. As a result, healthy older men who were administered growth hormone had enhanced collagen deposition during the wound-healing process, helping the healing process.

3. Enhanced Weight Loss

Obese individuals have limited response to growth hormone stimuli release, and after successful reduction of weight, growth hormone responsiveness can be partial or complete. Growth hormone accelerates lipolysis, the breakdown of lipids and involves hydrolysis of triglycerides into glycerol and free fatty acids, and impaired secretion of human growth hormone leads to loss of lipolytic effect.

Dietary restrictions and growth hormone treatment effects on anabolic and lipolytic actions as well as the changes in growth hormone secretions and insulin were investigated in a study published in Hormone Research. Twenty-four obese participants were on a hypocaloric diet and treated with recombinant human growth hormone or a placebo in a double-blinded, 12-week randomized study. As a result, growth hormone treatment caused a 1.6-fold increase in weight loss, with the greatest loss being visceral fat compared to the placebo.

In the placebo group, lean body mass was lost, whereas lean body mass was gained in the growth hormone group. This study suggests that in obese participants who eat a caloric-restriction diet, growth hormone accelerates the loss of body fat and improves growth hormone secretion. Thus, human growth hormone can serve a therapeutic role to help obese people lose weight.

4. Stronger Bones

The pituitary gland stimulates the release of growth hormone and is essential for regulating bone growth, especially during puberty. Growth hormone stimulates the production of IGF-1, which is produced in the liver and released in the blood. With age, human growth hormone decreases and may be the cause of older individuals not being able to form or replace bone rapidly. The IGF-1/growth hormone duo stimulates bone-forming and bone-resorbing cells, leading to increased bone mass.

5. Reduced Cardiovascular Disease Risk

Adults who are growth hormone-deficient have an increased risk for cardiovascular disease, leading to decreased life expectancy. In Sweden, 104 patients who are growth hormone-deficient were studied for cardiovascular disease risk. These patients had higher body mass and triglyceride concentrations compared to controls. These results suggest lipoprotein metabolism is altered by growth hormone deficiency, increasing the risk for cardiovascular disease.

6. Improvement in Erectile Dysfunction

It’s been suggested in recent studies that human growth hormone is responsible for male reproductive function and sexual maturation while deficiency is associated with loss of sexual erection and desire. Thirty-five healthy adult men and 45 participants with erectile dysfunction were exposed to tactile and visual stimuli in order to elicit penile tumescence in a German study. The increase in growth hormone was greater than 90 percent as determined during developing penile tumescence, followed by a transient decrease afterward. This study suggests that penile erection may be induced by growth hormone through its stimulating activity on human corpus cavernosum smooth muscle, making it a potential natural remedy for impotence.

7. Decreased Obesity

Insulin resistance and visceral/abdominal obesity are common in adults with hormone growth deficiency. Abdominal obesity is prevalent in individuals who show low growth hormone and insulin-like growth hormone serum concentrations as well. Human growth hormone treatment has demonstrated positive results in adults who are growth hormone-deficient in treating obesity naturally.

Thirty men ages 48–66 with abdominal/visceral obesity were treated with recombinant human growth hormone in a nine-month, randomized, double-blind study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. Abdominal and visceral adipose tissue decreased along with diastolic blood pressure, and improved insulin sensitivity was one of the favorable benefits of human growth hormone found.

8. Better Mood and Cognitive Function

Quality of life and psychological well-being are restored when growth hormone therapy in growth hormone-deficient adults is administered. A Lithuanian study investigated the changes in cognitive function, mood and concentration from baseline after six months of treatment with human recombinant growth hormone. Eighteen adult patients with HGH deficiency participated in the study, and growth hormone was administered in 12 IU per week.

As a result, cognitive function and mood significantly increased after six months of therapy, according to mood scales. This study suggests that administering growth hormone can be a possible treatment option to improve cognitive function and mood in adults who are growth hormone-deficient.

9. Better Sleep

The majority of the growth hormone pulsatile secretion happens just after the onset of sleep and continues to rise when the first hours of sleep are reached. Individuals who are going through sleep deprivation, such as people who work the night shift or late studiers, can be affected negatively throughout the day. Lack of sleep alters pituitary and hypothalamus function, further altering growth hormone release time.

When sleep was deprived for 24 to 36 hours in a study conducted by the University of Chicago’s Department of Medicine, human growth hormone release was drastically decreased and noticeably decreased in growth hormone peak values at night. The 24-hour diurnal pulse of growth hormone release became random and more frequent throughout these waking hours. This study suggests that sleep deprivation can reduce growth hormone release the morning after and can severely disturb and alter the sleep-wake cycle.

Human Growth Hormone Deficiency

Signs and symptoms of growth hormone deficiency vary with age, and children can have different symptoms than an adult. Children being significantly shorter than children their age and grow less than two inches per year are common symptoms of growth hormone deficiency. Children with normal levels grow about 2.5 inches a year from age 1 until they hit puberty, when they can grow up to four inches a year. However, a decline in human growth hormone does not have any impact on a child’s intelligence.

Other symptoms of growth hormone deficiency in children include:

Facial features may appear younger than children who are the same age
Delayed puberty, sometimes will not go through puberty
Increased fat around the stomach and face
Prominent forehead
Slow hair growth

Adults may experience a combination of symptoms from human growth hormone deficiency, including:

Depression
Hair loss
Sexual dysfunction
Decreased muscle strength and mass
Memory loss
Lack of concentration
Dry skin
Increased triglycerides
Fatigue
Cardiovascular disease risk
Increase LDL (“bad”) cholesterol
Insulin resistance
Reduced bone density
Temperature sensitivity
Increased weight, especially around the waist

Best Ways to Increase HGH Naturally

1. High-Intensity Exercise

It’s well-documented in various studies that exercise-induced growth hormone response increases HGH secretion. Research suggests that the exercise-induced growth hormone plus endurance exercise associated with load, intensity, duration and frequency are the determining factors in the regulation of HGH secretion.

An exercise intensity above lactate threshold and for a minimum of 10 minutes elicits the greatest stimulus to the secretion of HGH. HIIT workouts are effective in promoting beneficial well-being, health and positive training outcomes, while stimulating HGH.

2. L-glutamine

Supplementing with L-glutamine is known for enhancing exercise performance, maintaining acid-base balance and increasing the storage of glycogen in muscle. In an Iranian study, 30 healthy non-athlete males were randomly divided into placebo and glutamine supplementation groups and put through an eight-week resistance training program. Both groups performed the same weight training program three days a week for eight weeks. Both groups increased in performance, but the glutamine groups showed greater increases in lower- and upper-body strength, explosive muscle power, blood testosterone, IGF-1, and HGH compared to the placebo group.

3. L-arginine

Most studies have shown when administering oral L-arginine to participants, arginine alone increases the resting growth hormone levels at least 100 percent, while exercise can increase growth hormone levels by 300 percent to 500 percent.

4. A-GPC

According to a study in the 2008 issue of the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, alpha-glycerylphosphorylcholine (A-GPC) might increase human growth hormone levels. Participants who consumed 600 milligrams of A-GPC two hours before resistance exercise had increased HGH levels post-exercise compared to those given a placebo.

5. Laughter

Researchers Stanley Tan and Lee Berk at Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, Calif., observed that two hormones, human growth hormone and endorphins, were increased by 27 percent and 87 percent, respectively, when participants anticipated watching a humorous video.

6. Normal Liver Function

HGH stimulates the liver into producing IGF-1, which is released into the body to stimulate the production of cells that are responsible for cell proliferation, increased muscle mass and increased energy. An individual would never experience the full benefits HGH has to offer if experiencing poor liver function, cirrhosis, fatty liver and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

7. Vitamin C

Studies have observed the correlation of reduced vitamin C concentration in decreased growth hormone secretion, obese patients, increased waist-hip ratio and increased heart disease risk, which is why consuming more vitamin C foods may help increase HGH.

Dopamine vs. Serotonin:

Their Effects & Key Differences

The endocrine (hormonal) system functions at a slower pace than the nervous system, but the two must work together to maintain internal balance and happiness. There are actually hundreds of different chemicals in the brain we call neurotransmitters or endorphins.

These cause positive feelings, but the two that are probably the most well-known are dopamine and serotonin.

The combination of dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin and opiate endorphins are often called “the quartet.” Together, they’re responsible for most of our perception of “happiness”.

Let’s take a look at how these chemicals function and play off one another:

Serotonin.

Serotonin is often called the “happy hormone” because it improves your mood and helps beat depression. We need healthy levels of serotonin for mood stabilization, getting good sleep, dreaming and visualization. It also influences many physiological functions one probably wouldn’t expect, such as blood pressure levels, digestion and regulation of body temperature. Adequate levels of serotonin provide emotional and social stability, while low levels of serotonin are associated with various mental disturbances including: depression, anxiety, PMS, sugar/carbohydrate cravings, trouble sleeping, obsessive thinking and addiction to alcohol or drugs.

Dopamine.

(It’s closely related to the hormone noradrenalin, also called norepinephrine).

Dopamine is considered one of the strongest “feel-good hormones” (neurotransmitters) that makes you feel energized, motivated and in control. Both dopamine and noradrenaline are associated with pleasure, motivation, alertness, concentration and euphoria. They are raised by sources of stress, but this doesn’t always mean “bad stress.” Noradrenaline levels tend to be higher in “positive stress” states like sex, being in love, during exercise or doing other fun things like dancing, laughing and listening to music. Low levels of dopamine/norepinephrine is associated with: depression, lack of concentration (brain fog), poor motivation and difficulty initiating and/or completing tasks.

There are other important neurochemicals to familiarize with, that include:

GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid): relaxing and calming after experiencing stress, since it has a dampening effect on the central nervous system

Catecholamines: energizers or natural stimulants

Adrenaline (also called epinephrine): strong motivator, stimulating you to deal with and overcome stress

Acetylcholine: improves memory and mental alertness

Tryptamines: help with forming bonds and connection

Melatonin: helps to keep you in tune with the cycles of nature and day/night

DMT (dimethyltryptamine): useful for staying optimistic and seeing “the big picture” when stressed.

7 Benefits of Endorphins

1. May Help You Overcome Addictions

The release of endorphins can be helpful for allowing you to escape addictions, including some that you may not even realize you have — such as overeating/binge-eating or other “normal” sources of over consumption (like dependence on social media). When endorphins or other neurochemical levels drop, you’re more likely to look for unhealthy sources of comfort or reward, including drugs and alcohol. This is why healthy habits like exercise can be powerful for dealing with addiction, depression and boosting recovery.

2. Offer Relief from Stress, Depression or Anxiety

As you’ve learned, serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin and endorphins all have powerful mood-boosting abilities. Several popular antidepressant drugs (such as Prozac or Zoloft) are called “selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors,” or SSRIs. They work to decrease symptoms of depression by blocking neurons’ reuptake of serotonin, leaving more available and circulating in the bloodstream. This helps elevate your mood, although artificially. The same serotonin and endorphin perks, although usually to a lesser degree, can be felt from increasing levels naturally through things like your diet, hobbies and sleep (see below).

3. Protect the Heart

Something that might surprise you about the “cuddle hormone” oxytocin is that it seems to improve immune function and even protects your heart from stress.

Consider this another reason to get a massage or hug someone for your health.

4. Make one Feels Sleepy, but Also Fights Fatigue

Endorphins, and especially serotonin, affect the overall moods, level of sleepiness and pain tolerance —all important parts of regulating the internal “clock” called the circadian rhythm. The circadian rhythm helps one to intuitively know the cycles of day/wake versus night/sleep. This helps to wake up refreshed but feel drowsy before bed and during the night.

Melatonin, dopamine and other chemicals, such as adrenaline, also affect the sleep cycle and send the brain a signal when it’s either time to wind down or rise and shine.

5. Keep the Brain Sharp

Certain endorphins are highly beneficial for cognition, as well as fueling creativity and inspiration. We can thank the release of endorphins and neurochemicals like dopamine for allowing us to stay motivated and intrigued enough to produce great works of art, music and writing, to create scientific formulations and even to experience spiritual breakthroughs.

6. Help to Deal with Pain

Beta-endorphins are a type of neuropeptides involved in pain management, possessing morphine-like effects, according to a report published in Hawaii Medical Journal.

The neuron receptors that endorphins bind to help decrease the perception of pain just like some prescriptions. In fact, certain pain-killing drugs act on the same binding sites that endorphins do. In low doses, the opiates morphine and codeine are actually found in normal cerebrospinal fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. However when their levels are dramatically increased, they cause strong pain-killing effects. In normal circumstances without opiates circulating in your system, endorphins take on the role of controlling pain enough to help one carrys on when injured or ill.

7. Help You Feel Connected to Others

Considering humans are a highly-social species, it’s not surprising we feel a natural “high”— thanks to the release of neurochemicals like oxytocin — when we experience a sense of unity with those around us, a deep connection with community or family and a shared sense of life’s purpose. Oxytocin is released during highly emotional moments like childbirth, when you’re in love and also during orgasms. It helps increase fidelity and monogamy in relationships, motivates us to strengthen personal connections, helps us stay honest and facilitates compassion/empathy towards others.

Natural Ways to Increase Endorphins & Feel-Good Chemicals

The amazing thing about the human brain and body is that we are all capable of producing our own “natural highs,” without even taking illegal or prescription substances for help. Positive moods also thankfully work in a cyclical pattern: when we release endorphins following behaviors like exercise or time spent with others, we are motivated to repeat these behaviors again in the future. When we ask ourselves, “What are endorphins,” it’s important to also understand how to naturally boost endorphin levels.
1. Exercise Regularly

A large body of research shows that people who exercise regularly have added protection against depression, tend to deal with anxiety better and also get better sleep. Exercise is one of the most endorphin-boosting things one can do, offering numerous benefits for both our bodies and minds (hence the name “runner’s high”). Studies show exercise even works similarly to meditation to increase well-being. Some of the ways that exercise releases endorphins and therefore improves your mood include:

Increasing self-esteem; we feel good about taking care of our own health
Giving a sense of accomplishment and mastery as one progresses (due to dopamine)
Increasing energy levels and helping to sleep more soundly (thanks to adrenaline and serotonin)
Keeping one motivated to keep trying and improving in the future (due to dopamine)
Leaving one with a more optimistic, positive and energized outlook on life

2. Eat A Healthy Diet

Because your diet is key for creating neurotransmitters, you can view certain healthy foods as near-perfect “brain foods.” Nutrient-dense foods can improve how one feels and thinks, plus balance the blood sugar, which acts as brain and body fuel. Stabilizing the mood with a healthy diet can also allow one to break one's dependency on processed food substances that interfere with normal brain chemistry and deplete the energy over time.

Here’s how to increase the release of endorphins such as serotonin through your dietary choices:

Consume enough protein.
Serotonin is made primarily through intake of tryptophan-rich foods, such as turkey or milk. Almost all protein sources will help release serotonin, including meat, fish, chicken, poultry, cheese, milk and eggs, which are complete proteins.
Don’t skip plant foods.
You can also combine a number of different plant foods, such as beans with sprouted grains, to get the same effects. In general, whole foods like seeds, nuts, beans, lentils, peas, corn or the germ of grains, such as buckwheat and oats, are all good plant sources of amino acids that help increase serotonin.
Even some veggies, such as broccoli, spinach or cauliflower, are relatively rich in protein.
Consume more antioxidant foods.
Free radicals are the major cause of the aging process and also contribute to mental illness, since they attack brain cells and contribute to inflammation. Increase your intake of antioxidant foods by eating colorful plants like leafy greens, sweet potato, squash, citrus, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, plums, broccoli and alfalfa sprouts.
Eat healthy fats.
Fats comprise 60 percent of the brain. Essential fatty acids produce hormones called eicosanoids, which are necessary for many chemical processes within the body. They stimulate the immune system, fight inflammation and support the activity of neurotransmitters, including serotonin. Get healthy fats from coconut or olive oil, wild-caught fish like Alaskan salmon, nuts, seeds and avocado.
Avoid high consumption of alcohol and caffeine.
Using and abusing these substances can lead the body to compensate by building a tolerance due to down-regulation. This makes it harder to quit, requires one to increase one's intake to feel the same mood-boost, and causes side effects of “withdrawal” in some cases.

3. Laugh More!

Laughter is basically a quick-fix for feeling almost instantly better, thanks to the release of endorphins. Studies have even linked laughter with an elevated pain threshold. Try regularly doing something to keep your sense of humor, such as playing with children, watching something funny, recalling a funny moment, sharing jokes, or attending live comedy events.

4. Connect with Others (This Includes Touch, Volunteering & Finding Purpose)

Connection — through means like being touched when receiving a massage or a hug, volunteering to help others or just having a deep conversation with someone you trust — all releases oxytocin and other chemicals that help one to feel calm and comforted. Acupuncture and other hands-on treatments also seem to have similar effects according to some studies. Make time to foster healthy relationships, reach out to others in need, find a sense of purpose and notice how good you feel when you do something nice for someone else.

5. Learn Something New

Dopamine is the primary neurotransmitter involved in stimulus-reward-learning, so it can help us learn positive behaviors and stay motivated when used to our advantage. Of course, the opposite is also true: a dopamine release is also triggered when we engage in a harmful habit (such as overeating junk food). This steers us in the direction of wanting to repeat these behaviors again.

Use dopamine's reinforcing ability to one's benefit by learning something new, experiencing something novel, such as new location when traveling or making progress in a hobby or at work. These can all release feel good neurochemicals, making one to want to repeat them. Challenge yourself regularly by finding new sources of engagement, and don’t shy away from taking on difficult tasks that can wind up be rewarding long-term.

6. Incorporate Soothing Tastes, Smells & Essential Oils

Aromatherapy, or simply smelling something that reminds you of comforting times (such as fresh baked cookies) has been linked to the release of endorphins. Essential oil scents such as vanilla, chamomile, rose and lavender can help one actually feel calmer almost instantly. And similarly, consumption of “guilty pleasures” like dark chocolate can bring on a feeling of comfort, thanks to the release of chemicals such as theobromine.

Wondering if the giggly, mellow feeling you might get from alcohol is related to endorphins?

According to recent studies, drinking alcohol may release a small amount of feel-good hormones (especially when you’re having a drink while bonding with friends), but too much will actually cause the opposite effects.

7. Spend Time in Nature & in the Sun

Exposing yourself to nature and the sun for about 20 minutes daily helps your skin absorb UV rays and produce vitamin D, which is important for your mood. Sunshine and nature also seem to help regulate the release of neurochemicals like serotonin and melatonin.

What Are Endorphins?

Final Thoughts

Endorphins are neurotransmitters, or natural opiate-peptide chemicals, that pass along signals from one neuron to the next, causing feelings or emotions.
The release of endorphins is associated with feelings of pleasure, sexuality/sensually, motivation, euphoria, social connection and pain relief. Low levels of endorphins are associated with pain, addiction, sadness or depression, sleep trouble, brain fog and higher incidence of risk-taking behaviors.
Natural ways to release endorphins include exercise, eating a healthy diet, laughing, working on fun hobbies, learning something new and connecting with others.

Total Quality Management (T.Q.M) and my SLEEP

I have not had good sleep for the last one year or so.

There were many reasons.

Fact that I had to published a book on (my omitted) Dreams and their interpretation is an example of that inconvenience.

I only dream when I am down with fever or recovering form a flu episode.

I probably dream a lot but never remember them unless I am incapacitated.

Be that as it is, may be, for the coming year is not a healthy pastime and this years resolution is for me to catch up all the lost sleep.

In fact, I am practicing it for the last few days and it seems to be becoming infectious in the family.

The reason for lack of sleep was my obsession of downloading 100 Linux distributions to begin with but it ended up passing over 200 and not out, which Tandurkar should be bit concerned about.

It was shear perseverance.

Lot of odds!

I wish Tandukar make it this year for the record.

Good luck it will be on your way.

Do not believe on lucky stars but believe in yourself.

My reason for keeping up in the night is that I could never get our telecoms the speed above 5 to 10 bits day time even though I pay for 50 bits/sec.

This is where lack of quality is judged by every minute of loss of my sleep.

Then the electricity breaks down and before the download stream breaks down I have to get up and shutdown the computer and restart again when power is restored almost every other day due to sudden interruption to electricity supply.

That is number two in my list of lack of Quality.

Number three is the water supply.

All of the above three I pay through my nose and I have decided to terminate my Linux adventure soon.

That is after I have downloaded a few Linux gamers for demonstration.

I am trying the Ultimate gamer for the last two weeks and there is still 1 GiB left.

Hopefully without any break I would be able to download it from a point to point server.

Hope they place the image in Linuxtracker soon.

Ultimate Linux 3.0 (without games) I was able to download through linuxtracker in 2 days.

My quality of sleep is interrupted by two or more sources.

Number one is Global Warming and its attendant increase of mosquito menace.

Number two is my dog barking at night.

Number three is the fire crackers which my dog hates.

He does not sleep and so do I.

So to solve my quality problem, I need to bring down the ambient temperature.

With coal power and the rest of the factors contributing to its upward mobility I won't be able to solve it.

I will try my ZERO carbon out put (that means I have to die) and failing which a low carbon output.

I must go into Metta Meditation and the Dream Mode to conserve energy and low CO2 output.

When I do that mosquito attraction is less.

I will encourage the misquotes to bread in my water buckets.

Then add two or three guppy fish when full of larvae.

Water plants of course I cannot use as vegetables but I will try to find a water plant that prevent mosquito breeding.

When I sleep well my dog also sleep well.

The mosquitoes reach me first and then the dog who is under the bed.

I cannot do anything about the fire crackers.

I will put some ear plugs and possibly to my dog's ears too.

I do not think my dog will love ear plugs.

So those are the few steps of quality control I may employ in the coming year.

Mind you I will stop downloading Linux within the next few weeks.

I have enough in my archives now.