Sleep. All of us can say we sleep, but how many of us understand just what’s going on and why sleep is a critical element to the human condition?
Today, I want to talk to you about sleep. Because you would not be able to remember Christmas, enjoy the holiday, learn something new, or engage in self-love without sleep.
Sleep touches every area of our life and body. As a result, not only do we practice a huge element of self-care when we honor our need for sleep, but we impact our quality of life.
For the purposes of this article, I will be utilizing the research results and information I have gathered from Mathew Walker, Professor of neuroscience. I will be including some links for more from him, but feel free to go out and search for more information regarding sleep.
Areas of Impact:
As I said, every area of our life is touched and interwoven with sleep. To get a better idea of this influence I will list a few areas of our lives and the impact.
The Brain:
Our brain is responsible for our functionality. Without a working brain, our heart may pump blood through our body, but all thought, emotions, and movement would cease.
In addition to our body’s function and condition, our brain also is home to our memories and knowledge.
Sleep + the Brain:
Research has shown that sleep influences memory and function. When you then interweave sleep and the brain, research shows that we need sleep before and after we learn. Without the necessary amount and frequency of sleep, our brains are unable to absorb new memories.
When we close our eyes and snuggle into our blankets, our brain goes through different phases of sleep. Our sleep enables our brains to first shift our memories from short-term storage to long-term storage. This is how we still know how to walk, read, write, speak, and so much more. The knowledge necessary to function is safely tucked away in long-term storage.
Following the download and reorganization of our memories our brain then tackles our emotions and mental well-being. That is, if we’re still asleep.
When we enter REM sleep, we experience dreams. Aside from the spiritual ones, our dreams are meant for us to safely replay painful memories and process moments from our lives.
By dealing with out emotions, thoughts, and feelings in our sleep, these memories lose their sting. We are then able to move on and heal from past trauma. Through sleep we are ensuring our emotional and mental wellbeing.
The Implication and Long-Term Impact of Sleep:
As you can see, without sleep our brains would be a damaged, cluttered, and painful place. But what does this damage look like, how does it take shape in our lives?
PTSD:
Post-traumatic stress disorder will impact 6 out of 100 people in America during some point in their lives. Those 6 out of 100 will not be the only ones impacted; their friends, families, and co-workers will also be touched.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is not a shame or a weakness it is a result of pain, hardship, and trauma.
What makes PTSD all the more challenging is the impact of sleep, or more accurately a lack of sleep has on the healing and recovery of PTSD.
Sleep offers us a safe outlet to rehash and reprocess tough moments in our life, moments of trauma that can cause PTSD. But for those who suffer, when they enter REM sleep and dream, they are unable to achieve that healing sleep offers.
Luckily, there are specific drugs which can help (referenced in Matthew Walker’s book (this is an affiliate link)) and as we speak Mather Walker and others are working to uncover and develop healing strategies for PTSD.
Dementia & Alzheimer’s:
As we age our sleep can deteriorate. Unfortunately, the lack of sleep contributes to memory decline and recent research shows that this lack of sleep is directly connected with the onset and development of illnesses such as dementia and Alzheimer’s.
While our ability to access deep recesses within the brain in non-existent, our ability to impact the amount and consistency of our sleep is within our power. Working to integrate a healthy perception and application of sleep will not only benefit you today but go a long way on helping you prevent and diminish the chances and impact of these and other illnesses.
Other Areas of Impact:
We’ve seen the impact of sleep on our brain, our memories, mental and emotional health, and the impact on ailments like PTSD and dementia. Sleep doesn’t touch only these areas of our lives. Sleep travels and touches upon every element of what makes us human.
- Cardiovascular System
- Immune System
- Reproductive system
- Genetics
Who we are, how healthy we are, our ability to reproduce- all of this and more is impacted by how much sleep you get a night. Because sleep cannot be set aside or made up later. Eight hours of sleep or more is needed EVERY SINGLE NIGHT.
What Helps?
Due to the critical importance of sleep, what can we do? While there are things we can do or avoid, the first step is mental- we must alter our perception of sleep.
Sleep:
- Is healthy
- Is healing
- Is critical
- Is an act of self-love
- Matters to all of us
Once we change how we treat sleep and how we treat ourselves when we get tired or when we sleep, we remove the roadblock that is ourselves. Then we can further aid our duration and quality of sleep by utilizing these tips…
Tips:
- Avoid alcohol, marijuana, and caffeine
- Regular sleep (week and weekend)- impacts quantity and quality
- Cool bedroom- 65F 18C (optimal for most people)
- Avoid hitting the snooze button to many times. Each time, you put your heart through a stressor. One time a day is ok, but multiple times a day, over months, and years- has a negative impact.
- For more tips check out this link…
More on Sleep:
For more on sleep check out these links…
Sleep is Your Superpower– Mathew Walker’s TED Talk
6 Tips for Better Sleep– Mather Walker’s TED Talk
How to Improve Your Sleep– a short video by Mathew Walker
Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams – book by Mathew Walker (this is an affiliate link)
This holiday season give yourself the gift of sleep and hold onto this present for the rest of your life. You deserve it, Chickadee. Merry Christmas!