What does sleep do for the brain? It seems that insomnia is now a global epidemic. It doesn't matter if you suffer from insomnia or are chronically sleep-deprived. Poor sleep can affect your performance. Here are 3 ways to make your brain get the rest it needs to stay healthy.

What Does Sleep Do For the Brain?

Sleep deprivation feels terrible. If you have had a bad night of sleep, you will notice that you feel slow, sluggish and heavy. It's almost like you are trying to walk through syrup. You feel confused and clumsy, you lose things and everything seems to be going wrong.

A lack of sleep can make you feel worse and cause physical damage to your brain. A lack of sleep can cause problems with your memory processing and storage, and even increase your chance of developing Alzheimer's disease. Chronically poor sleep is associated with two proteins that are linked to Alzheimer's disease, beta amyloid and tau protein. These proteins are cleared from the brain by sleep, according to laboratory tests.

There are many things you can do for your sleep health and brain health.

1. Discover Your Best Sleep Levels

Everybody has different sleep requirements. Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher, British politicians, needed very little sleep. However, it is not recommended that most people get less than four to five hours of sleep each night. Find out how much sleep you need, regardless of whether you are a night owl or a regular sleeper.

You can get enough sleep by not having to wake up, feeling refreshed and energetic, and not needing coffee throughout the day.

2. Improve Your Sleep Hygiene

Research has shown that the time you spend before going to bed can have a significant impact on your quality of sleep. You should schedule some downtime and stop using blue-light emitting devices such as smartphones, tablets, computers, and televisions an hour before you go to bed. You can read, relax in a bath, or listen calming music instead.

3. Do Not Lie While You Sleep

You should get up and move around if you are unable to sleep for more than ten minutes. Poor sleep and insomnia can be caused by a lack of movement, stress, or laying down. It's also possible to become irritable, brooding, or mulling over the events of each day.

Do something that is relaxing, such as reading or meditation until you feel tired. You can do this multiple times, or even more. Your brain is trying to learn to see bed as a place to sleep, and not as a place to think.

You will feel more calm, productive, and less likely to develop Alzheimer's later on in your life if you improve your sleep.

Additional Brain Health and Wellness FAQs

Did you know that your brain health and wellness are just as important as the rest of your body? Here are some additional FAQs about keeping your brain healthy and performing at its best.

What Can I Do to Improve My Brain Health?

There are lots of things you can do to improve your brain health, such as exercising, eating a healthy diet, and getting enough sleep.

Can Multitasking Can Harm Your Brain?

Multitasking may be a positive thing. Multitasking is promoted as a way to increase productivity and efficiency. Did you know that too many tasks can actually cause brain damage?

There was once a limit on how many things one could do at once. But modern technology has allowed people to take on more to keep up with the times. You rarely see people walking down the street without their smartphones, navigating to meetings or sipping their coffee.

Humans are made to do multiple things at once. Even in caveman times, it was necessary to be able talk and hunt and gather simultaneously.

Science is now advising us that multitasking is a risky activity. This is what happens when you attempt to do more than one thing at once.

Your Productivity Drops

Multitasking is not a way to be more proactive. Studies after studies have shown that multitasking can slow you down, as you switch between activities. It can take up five minutes to get back in the flow. This can cause a 40% decrease in productivity. Multitasking can lead to more errors.

Dropping Cognitive Performance

Switching tasks can disrupt your short-term memory and lower your comprehension. It also reduces your ability to retain and learn information. You can even lose 15 points of your intelligence.

Multitasking Can Affect Your Judgment

Multitasking skills can be viewed as a weakness. Multi-taskers make it harder to organize and analyze their thoughts. They also tend to make more mistakes and retain less information.

Multitasking is Dangerous

It can be dangerous to try to do too many things at once. Talking to someone while crossing the street is dangerous. You should also check your email from your phone as you cross the street. Texting while driving is a big red flag for car accident victims. Statisticians show that texting while driving is more dangerous than drunken driving. 25% of car accidents are caused by texting drivers.

Multitasking can be a good thing for your mental and physical health, as well as making you more productive. You need to slow down and take it one at a while.

Does Pet Ownership Improve Our Brain Health?

There are many reasons that cute memes of dogs and cats on social media are so popular. Pets can make your heart happy. Nothing is more comforting, except if you have allergies, than having your pet dog or cat snuggle up on you when you get back from work.

Research shows that pets can be not only loving and affectionate but also beneficial to brain health. Here are four ways pets can benefit your brain.

Your brain chemistry is enhanced by pets

When you are with your pet, your brain releases the pleasure chemicals serotonin or oxytocin. Your brain releases feel-good hormones that make you happy and flood it with happiness. Conversely, your cortisol levels drop. This brain chemical is associated with stress and anxiety.

Dogs and Cats for Mental Health

Being a pet owner can help you cope with anxiety and depression. Pets can help you to build a relationship with your pet and also allow you to exercise your muscles. Many people with depression can find support in a cat or dog.

Pet ownership is good for your heart health

Numerous studies have shown a correlation between pet ownership and a lower risk of heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular diseases. Walking your dog is good for your heart. Walking your dog can have positive effects on your stress levels as well as your emotional bond with your pet.

Pets enhance the childhood outcomes

Research shows that having a pet can help you to be a better parent. A pet can be a companion for children with low self-esteem or loneliness.

Pets can be a great help for children with autism or Asperger’s.

Pets can be a great option for seniors

Therapy dogs and cats are increasingly popular in dementia care homes and nursing homes. Accessing a pet can help alleviate many of the most severe symptoms such as anxiety, memory loss and behavioral problems. Patients with dementia can be assisted by robotic animals, even if they have had to take medication in the past.

There are many reasons to have a pet. Pets can enhance your quality of life and brain health.

Can Stress Affect My Brain Health?

Yes, stress can definitely affect your brain health. It's important to find ways to manage stress so it doesn't take a toll on your mental wellbeing.

About Flow Total Wellness:

Flow Total Wellness is a blog that focuses on self-improvement and personal growth, as well as mental health and wellness. The goal of the blog is to help people understand themselves better in order to improve their lives. Learn how to be more productive in life and at work. Topics include positive mindset, stress management, and tips for mental well-being.

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