Did you know that not getting enough sleep is not healthy for your brain? New research shows that sleeping less than seven or eight hours a night has been linked to cognitive decline, memory loss, and possibly even Alzheimer's disease.
A sleep deficit can have dangerous implications for your brain, and not just because it makes you sleepy during the day. Parts of your brain are several times more active at night than during the daytime. One of them is a newly discovered drainage system called the glymphatic system. This is a bit like your city's sewage and recycling system. Its job is to clear out and recycle all toxins in the brain. One protein actively recycled during sleep is amyloid plaque. This plaque is the hallmark of Alzheimer's. Alzheimer’s disease is caused by many factors, but one of these may also be sleep deprivation.
A University of Pennsylvania study found that extended wakefulness can injure neurons essential for alertness and cognition, and that the damage to these neurons might be permanent. Other studies have led scientists to conclude that chemicals secreted during the deeper stages of sleep are crucial for repairing the body, including the brain.
One of the chemicals involved in creating memories, acetylcholine, is also developed during sleep and dreaming. Brain cells that produce acetylcholine are destroyed in people who are developing Alzheimer’s disease. So, these people do not dream as much.
Relaxation and meditation or mindfulness has been found to be very beneficial to brain and body health. Deep relaxation and meditation, when practiced regularly not only relieve stress and anxiety but have been found to improve mood. Deep relaxation has many other potential benefits as well—it can decrease blood pressure, relieve pain, and improve your immune and cardiovascular systems
The brain requires substantial downtime to remain industrious and generate its most innovative ideas. According to Tim Kreider, of the New York Times, "Idleness is not just a vacation, an indulgence or a vice; it is as indispensable to the brain as vitamin D is to the body, and deprived of it we suffer a mental affliction as disfiguring as rickets,"
Let’s get a good nights sleep, remember to relax, and meditate. do it all for the health of our brains and become better thinkers in the process!
Sources:
http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/conditions/rest-relaxation-and-exercise
