Sleep is the ultimate recharger for our brains. Everyone can relate to that feeling when you wake up after a good night’s sleep, feeling refreshed and ready for the day ahead. However, with this fast-paced life, the majority of us all now lead, sleep often takes a backseat to the demands of daily life.
Unfortunately, we’ve all probably had our fair share of bad periods of sleep too. When those ZZs are the key to optimal cognitive function and unlocking your brain’s full potential, these periods can have a profound impact on our brains.
Here we briefly refer to the facts behind sleep vs no sleep and what that means for our bodies, minds, and above all cognitive health.
Your brain doesn’t sleep when you do
While you sleep your brain is hard at work, performing essential maintenance tasks needed for healthy cognitive function. A check-in of sorts to ensure everything is running smoothly and efficiently. One of the most important of these tasks during sleep is memory consolidation.
During the day, your brain is hit with a constant stream of information. Everything from your mundane morning work commute to the complex nature of your afternoon meeting discussions. However, it’s during sleep that your brain sorts all this information out – deciding on what to keep and what to bin.
This process is vital for both learning and memory formation, allowing you to retain and remember information more effectively.
Memory consolidation is just the tip of the iceberg
Your sleep plays a huge role in cognitive processes such as problem-solving, decision-making (even if it is just picking that lunch break croissant), and creative thinking. You might have noticed that your “Aha” moments appear in the shower or just before you call it a night. This is because sleep enhances your brain’s ability to link between unrelated pieces of information, leading to your best ideas that can change the game.
However, not all sleep is balanced. Even though you might have bagged eight hours in bed, those hours could have been riddled with tossing, turning, and midnight scrolling. You’re simply not getting the full benefits of sleep. Quality matters just as much as quantity when it comes to brain-boosting slumber.
How do you ensure you’re getting enough sleep?
Quality sleep starts with the right environment. By investing in a good mattress and pillows, blocking out excessive light and noise, and keeping your bedroom cool will instigate better sleep patterns.
Your sleep habits are also important in optimising cognitive function. This means you should stick to a consistent sleep schedule, avoid caffeine and using electronics before bedtime, and give relaxation techniques and deep breathing a try to calm that racing mind.
Don’t neglect the importance of winding down before you head to bed. Our world is hyper-connected and it’s far too easy to succumb to screentime, quickly checking in with our emails, and being exposed to hours of blue light. This is all conducive to disrupting our sleep-wake cycle when really, we should carve out tech-free time.
Instead, reach for the book that’s gathering dust, take a soak in a warm bath, or simply enjoy quiet time and be in the moment.
Let’s throw hearing loss into the mix
Sleep also plays a vital role in managing hearing loss too. Getting enough sleep supports the cognitive function needed to enhance communication and comprehension abilities.
Inadequate sleep increases hearing difficulties, which can lead to heightened sensitivity to sounds, increased tinnitus symptoms, and impaired auditory processing.
In a nutshell, quality sleep improves overall well-being for those with hearing loss. Poor sleep amplifies the challenges that often come with hearing loss, impacting daily functioning, cognitive function, and mental health.
Good sleep isn’t just a luxury. Prioritising quality sleep isn’t just about feeling rested either but unlocking your brain’s full potential. By embracing healthy sleep habits, and creating a sleep-friendly environment, you can supercharge your cognitive function and thrive.
Written by Paul Harrison, founder, and audiologist at Hearing Aid UK
