Friday, May 8, 2009

Sleeping pH

When we sleep, our oxygen levels drop (we take fewer and shallower breaths) which leads to a rise in acid levels. Yet, how much does our acid level change while we sleep? I have tested this out on myself for years and find that my level usually drops about ½ a point during sleep. One of the things we point out in this blog is the importance of attempting to discover the truth of things. You’ll often find that proper action follows in the wake of truth. If we allow ourselves to strictly rely on others, we must trust their information and if they are wrong, we are usually the only ones who suffer the consequences.


Fortunately, there’s a simple way for us to discover how much our pH levels change while we sleep! In previous posts, we discussed the use of litmus paper (pH strips) to measure body pH levels. By measuring our urine pH level before bedtime and upon our first morning urination, we can discover for ourselves if our pH levels become more acid in our sleep.


Interestingly, I have observed (by asking other people to check out their pH levels while asleep) that individuals with alkaline or neutral levels of pH do not appear to experience this increase in acidity. People with Alkaline levels, as discussed previously, are low in acid and often anemic, while those with Neutral levels possess a stable balance between acid and alkaline levels in the body. I have found that weak or strong acid levels get more acidic after sleep. If you are a high acid person to begin with, then becoming more acid during the night is not ideal as it can make your body more susceptible to a variety of ailments.


If you check out your pH levels and discover you are weak acid or strong acid (these values are reflected on the pH strips after you measure your urine), then you should consider eating more alkaline foods and less acid foods in the evening. Additionally, you can use the baking soda protocol we have described before on this blog. Take about a 1/8th to 1/4th teaspoon of baking soda in water 20 minutes after a meal. Your stomach needs acid to digest the food but by waiting to ingest the mixture until 20 minutes after a meal, you alkaline the stomach, while still giving it a chance to digest your food.


The second thing I do is to take a small amount of baking soda and water again at bedtime to help combat the acidic changes of sleep. I use 1/8th teaspoon of baking soda in a glass of water. You should realize that baking soda is a strong chemical in the body, becoming bicarbonate when mixed with water, and be careful to never overdo on baking soda and water after meals and at bedtime.


I do one other nighttime protocol for acid. I eat an orange! Now every book and every lecture I have ever heard says vitamin C is acid and can wear out the enamel of your teeth. I have made two discoveries on my own. The first is that when I measure pH after eating oranges, the pH levels of my saliva and urine actually become more alkaline! If vitamin C is such a strong or even weak acid, why does my saliva pH become more alkaline? Secondly, as I have discussed previously in this blog, I once took high levels of oral vitamin C during a time after I had become infected with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and my enamel never suffered.


The acidity of Vitamin C and oranges may not matter when we eat these foods and mix them in our saliva. It appears from my own self testing of saliva pH that saliva may have properties that neutralize the acid and actually gives the vitamin C in the mouth alkaline properties.


It is important to remember that not all people are acidic. Some have ideal pH levels while others are alkaline. In these cases, you don’t need to worry about your acid levels falling while you sleep. On the other hand, if you already possess weak (about 6.0 to 6.9) or strong acid (about 5.9 to 4.5) levels, then you don’t want to suffer a half point drop during sleep, as this will raise your total acid balance to about 5 times greater in the morning than when you went to sleep. Remember that a 1 point change in pH adds about 10 times more acid, so a ½ point change in pH will add about 5 times more acid! These kinds of acid levels can be very bad for us, as we know many conditions such as cancer thrive in acid conditions.


My protocol to combat night time drops of pH levels is the following:



1) Baking soda protocol after supper.


2) Eating alkaline vegetables or fruits in the evening, but usually vegetables.


3) Using the baking soda protocol at bedtime, but usually not exceeding a 1/8th teaspoon dose.


Once again you will need the pH strips or a roll of litmus paper to check out your own readings of your body pH. You can use this information to evaluate intelligent paths of action to best help your body balance pH. I have come a great distance in finally achieving a 7.0 urine pH levels (the ideal level). For years I was averaging 5.8-6.2 levels and on bad days (where I would eat horrible or over exercise) my pH levels would drop below 5.5! It took me nearly 9 years to get the balance I have now. I have learned how much and what types of exercise can exert terrible changes in pH that can last for days, what foods can change pH in a heartbeat, how much my pH can become more acidic when I am stressed, how much one bottle of coke can drop pH, and so on. You can all learn anything you want regarding keeping your own pH levels balanced. You just need to carry around a roll of litmus paper and monitor and self-observe your pH levels at various times in the day and night. You will discover for yourself what is true for you. I have put many of the lessons I learned for myself in this blog, lessons that took almost a decade to learn.

Keep it simple and learn what works for you!

1 comment:

  1. I was unknowingly eating and drinking a lot of high acid things.Meat beer wine and coffee etc. A few weeks ago I started having very painful wrist and hand problems and 4 days ago a friend turned me onto the problem. For 3 days I've been on a very high alkaline diet and my wrists and hands are improving and my urine smells better.

    Thank you for your post.

    Michael

    ReplyDelete