The most powerful force known to man is gravity. A force, that cements all planets to an invisible grid. A force which, here on earth, raised mountains, carved out valleys, hurls molten rock into the air and drives the world's weather and ocean currents. In fact, the very force that shapes everything we are or will ever see. From the time we stand up to take our first steps as children, we sense our correct posture and align ourselves for optimum performance. By standing on our own two feet, we are not struggling to overcome gravity as is currently accepted. In fact we stood up as a species in order to harness and bathe in the earth’s gravitational force.

Once this simple and hitherto overlooked concept is accepted, it becomes enlightening to understand how we, the most intelligent of all the species here on earth stand warm blooded and vertical, as opposed to cold blooded reptiles which do not! Yet, in our wisdom we have chosen to ignore the very force that powers all our vital functions when we sleep.

In the last two hundred years or so we have made many advances in science and medicine, We have poured countless £ billions into research and yet answers to debilitating medical conditions which cause untold suffering and premature deaths continue to remain life's unsolved mysteries. Children continue to slip quietly away before they have managed to take a single step. The average life expectancy has remained relatively the same: Three score years and ten or seventy years. Why has this figure failed to change significantly along with the advances in science and medicine? What common denominator does each and every one of us share as we sleep safely tucked up in bed?

Ever since the human race began, people have striven to make life more comfortable and nowhere is this more apparent than in the sleeping quarters of people around the world. Yet, in our endeavours for comfort we have never questioned the angle at which we lay down to sleep? Until now! The rhythms of nature, like the ocean tides, are irrefutably linked to the influences of the Sun, Moon and Earth’s gravitational force. It is no coincidence that animals and plants' synchronies the birth of their offspring. Yet, each of us chooses to ignore the power of gravity every night as we lay in our flat bed. How safe is sleep in this position? How can it affect our health and wellbeing?

Baboons and other primate’s sleep in anything but a horizontal position in the branches of trees in order to avoid predators. Cattle and sheep, when given a choice all sleep facing uphill. Birds sleep standing in an upright position, Emperor penguins, for instance, are able to withstand the harsh conditions of Antarctica's winter as they huddle together in an upright posture for several months without food, while awaiting the return of their spouse’s. The eggs, which they incubate, are maintained at a temperature near to that of our own body temperature. Clearly then the metabolic rate that maintains our own and every other creatures body temperature is linked, in some way, to the force of gravity, but how?

How my work began

In 1991 I picked up a GCSE Biology book from a Boot-sale. At this time I had no idea where this simple act of interest was going to lead me. I acquired the book to try to find an answer to a question, which was bugging me. That question was simply to understand how trees made use of mineral salts from the soil.

The reason for arriving at this question is very complicated. Brief explanation; I was involved in a plan to irrigate deserts with wastewater or sewage. "OASIS IRRIGATION PROJECT". In desert climates, high evaporation of irrigation water causes a build up of salts at the soil surface. Except where trees are present. Obviously trees are utilising the salts and storing them within the main structure of the tree. This was an intriguing little puzzle, because not only are trees able to lift water to the leaves, they are able to lift minerals from the soil water. But search as I may in my GCSE biology book to find a reasonable answer I found only an incredibly inadequate explanation of fluid transport, which made about as much sense as war and famine. I still find it hard to believe that medicine and science exists on such shaky foundations as Osmosis? Capillary action? Root Pressure?

The Birth of A New Theory.

Within twenty minutes I had discovered what is undoubtedly the most far-reaching single scientific breakthrough of all time. My first reaction to this discovery was "surely It could not possibly be this simple". However following a considerable amount of study I began to realise the significance of what I had discovered and could not find any reference to this phenomenon in any science or medical book.

Einstein, when asked, shortly before he died, if there was anything he had left undone? Replied "All my life I have strove to gain but a glimpse of the order of Nature".

A tree loses over ninety five per cent of the water that it draws from the soil into the atmosphere via its leaves. In doing so the water is processed by evaporation at the leaf where dissolved salts from the soil and sugars produced at the leaf are retained and concentrated, while pure water escapes as vapour. This retained liquid, once exposed to the atmosphere during transpiration, absorbs dissolved oxygen, which the tree needs in order to produce further growth. (A similar process is evident in the lungs of mammals.) Any concentration of minerals suspended in water results in the production of heavier water. Heavy liquids produced in the uppermost parts of the tree must fall towards the roots because of the affect of gravity. But, for every action there must also be a reaction, and the reaction is that any downward flowing pulses of heavy mineral laden sap, will cause a far greater volume of a lighter, dilute solution, in adjoining tubes, to be lifted. Visualise the downward flowing sap as a liquid plunger. (Similar processes are evident in mammals)

Furthermore, the internal pressures in the tree are altered by the downward flowing sap, which generates the positive pressure in front of the concentrated flow (phloem). While the negative pressure follows the flow in the return tubes or the (xylem), Which explains how water is sucked into the tree under a negative pressure and how roots are driven into the ground under positive pressures. Consider the roots and trunk as a continually extending sump and disposal site for the heavy downward flowing solutions. Some of which are used in the continuous cycle of growth, while any remaining heavy liquids which reach the roots are re-diluted by incoming water and flow back to the leaves having become lighter, drawn up by downward flowing concentrated solutions in a continual cycle. (Positive and negative pressures are also evident in mammals.)

The Brixham Cliff Experiments

In order to demonstrate and to prove this theory. I caused water to flow vertically, up to 24 meters, or, seventy-eight feet, in an experiment at the cliffs of Brixham’s Overgang car park, near the Zeneca Laboratory, before Forestry Commission Scientists and the local press. According to the established laws of physics, water while inside a tube is unable to be drawn by suction, higher than 10 metres or 33 feet. I achieved this using a single length of stiff nylon tube with both ends open and submerged in two glass demijohns, which remained at ground level. The whole apparatus was filled with degassed water. 25ml of concentrated coloured salt water was added to the centre of the tube, before the centre of the tube was raised up the cliff and formed a giant loop. Which resulted in the salt water in one side of the loop of tubing flowing down, under the influence of gravity into one demijohn, which overflowed, causing the salt free water to be drawn up from the other demijohn in which the water level went down.

All animals, including humans, as do the trees and plants, release water into the surrounding environment. We, for instance, breath out moisture with every breath and shed water vapour in a continual, invisible stream from our skin. However, unlike the trees, we have to eject the salts and minerals when they have completed the circuit, the heavy liquids collect in the bladder via the kidneys, where they are excreted in the urine. Several experiments were performed with urine to see if sufficient weight was present to activate three working models; the tests all proved positive.

Further tests on the specific gravity of urine in relation to posture also back up this research. For example, while resting on a five-degree head down tilt to the horizontal, the specific gravity of urine decreased to a zero reading overnight, while a five degree head up tilt stabilised the specific gravity overnight. Which, at the very least, shows that salts and minerals do arrive in the bladder, via the kidney, due to the affect of gravity on concentrated solutions. During these experiments I monitored the heart and respiration rate of my wife, our two teenage sons, and our three bull terriers, randomly, over several weeks. Measurements were taken while they slept both horizontally and in the inclined position. Over several weeks, it was constantly observed that in all cases the heart rate decreased by around ten beats per minute during inclined sleep, and the respiration rate decreased by four to five breaths per minute when compared to horizontal sleep. These measurements were later repeated and electronically confirmed by a nurse working in the Operation Recovery Room of Derriford Hospital, Plymouth. Yet the circulation and metabolism in all cases was higher in the "inclined" sleep than the horizontal or traditional sleep.

Having very carefully examined the established views on human physiology, my theory has consistently fitted with direction of flow in all of our bodily fluids. It gives us a clear understanding of Starlings Law of the Heart. (Increased venous return, or more blood flowing back under increased force).

Humidity

Humidity was found to be a very important factor in determining the speed at which the inclined sleep therapy works, as any increase in humidity impairs our ability to shed water as vapour. Those people living in a low lying coastal or river valley area, found a dehumidifier very helpful, needing to use it for only two or three hours in the bedroom prior to retiring. A simple solution In order to prove that this simple flow system is in fact a vital part of us. Several volunteers took part in a primary trial and slept with their heads higher than their feet by raising the head end of their beds six inches or fifteen centimetres. With a six foot long bed this produced an angle of five degrees to the horizontal. © Feb1998

All who took part, experienced benefits, some being almost beyond belief. Several people have shown that it is possible to reverse damage to the central and peripheral nervous system, including complete spinal cord injuries and nerve damage caused in chronic progressive multiple sclerosis, including damage to the optic nerve. Varicose veins, leg ulcers, oedema, arthritic conditions, lethargy, muscle wastage (atrophy) and osteoporosis have all responded well to this therapy. However time scales in each case are different. Some respond in four weeks while others may take four months or more. An improved resistance to infection has been observed and I am hoping that this will enable people suffering from immune deficiency disorders to achieve a stronger resistance to seasonal viruses and bacteriological infectious organisms.

Results from Experience

Since the primary trial, many positive benefits have been achieved using this simple modification to the way that we sleep and sit. It is interesting to note that, during the first few weeks, the body has to adapt to the new sleeping position.

We found that the first week or so feels a little strange and some people experience a slight ache in the spine, that appears to move upwards into the neck, causing a slight stiffening; however, this soon disappears and seems to be a threshold that needs to be passed before the full benefits of this therapy are experienced.

Several participants, including myself, have reported a slight increase in height, suggesting the spine is adopting a more upright posture and is probably due to a gentle easing or stretching in the spine. Muscular aches have been reported and are attributed to an apparent increase in muscular growth and firmness.

Some of the people on the trial, who had previously experienced restlessness during the night, found, during the first few weeks of sleeping on a 5 degree incline, they had a tendency to move down the bed. To give support they put the foot end of the bed against the wall. Many mattresses were found to cause problems due to slippery nylon materials used in their construction and where nylon sheets were placed on the mattress. Another way support was achieved was by placing a duvet under the bottom sheet, until a more relaxed sleep pattern was experienced.

Metabolism and Circulation

Many who have taken part in this study so far have noticed that they feel warmer in bed. People who have had cold feet in bed no longer complain of this problem, and many find that they produce less urine during the night, resulting with less frequent visits to the bathroom. This suggests that both metabolism and circulation has increased and, along with it, evaporation from the skin and breath. In order to test this, my wife and I measured our mouth temperature every hour throughout the night.

Birth of a New Bed

The inclined sleep therapy concept is now incorporated in a top quality bed, with a foot board built in, which is available under the name of Naturesway Sleep System, and is under application for a patent. The incline is built into the bed and takes away the risks that are inherent in raising a flat bed, which are:

1.The difficulty of cleaning. 2. The lack of built in stability. 3. The stress put on beds designed for a horizontal position can break. 4. Mattresses can slip off the base of the bed. 5. Mattresses are covered with a slippery material (The Naturesway mattress is covered in a slip resistant fabric to address this problem). 

Andrew K Fletcher, Summer Haze, 26 Berry drive, Paignton, Devon, TQ3 3QW UK © Feb1998

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© Andrew K.Fletcher - Feb1998

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Contact A. K. Fletcher at Gravity@bun.com or at gravlife@aol.com