Dear Imran

These articles may be useful for you

1) Caffeine and modafinil promote adult neuronal cell proliferation during 48 h of total sleep deprivation in rat dentate gyrus.

Sahu S, Kauser H, Ray K, Kishore K, Kumar S, Panjwani U.

Exp Neurol. 2013 Oct;248:470-81.

2) Effects on sleep stages and microarchitecture of caffeine and its combination with zolpidem or trazodone in healthy volunteers.

Paterson LM, Nutt DJ, Ivarsson M, Hutson PH, Wilson SJ.

J Psychopharmacol. 2009 Jul;23(5):487-94

It is widely accepted that a primary effect of stimulants is to suppress sleep. Studies have demonstrated that stimulants prolong sleep latency and reduce total sleep time. Stimulants have a specific inhibitory effect on REM sleep, so that there is a prolonged REM latency with a reduction in total REM throughout the sleep period

Thanks

Doing taichi in extra slow motion is equivalent to the rapid eye movement period during REM sleeps when nutrients are actually delivered and waste materials are removed to and from brain cells, under my Heart Rate Stimulation Therapy theory or Pao's Law of Exercise hypothesis. As long as there is 1) No obvious body movement, 2) No food in stomach, 3) No stress hormone, a moderate heart rate increase will enable this food and waste exchange in your brain, which happens mostly during REM sleep for busy city folks (totaled approx. 30 minutes in one night if they sleep well) because they either exercise non-stop or they don't do enough short exercises. Of course, gas exchange happens every second through your blood brain barrier. Otherwise, the electrical properties surrounding your brain cells can die quickly. Once you meet the above criteria with your HR stimulants for 30 minutes a day (e.g. a 30-min of extra slow taichi, or 30 sets of normal speed taichi or Sun Salutation, or a 9-hole golf game by foot, or a glass of wine before meal, etc.), your brain cells will be nourished and your sleep cycles will be enhanced. It is a daily affair.

Article “Rapid Eye Movement In REM Sleep Is Slow Motion Taichi ” - T...