It can be all too easy to skimp on sleep. Whether you’re socializing, working to meet a tight deadline, or simply bingeing your favorite TV show at the end of the day, you may not be getting a good night’s sleep each night. Unfortunately, missing out on sleep doesn’t just impact your body the following day. Over time you may accumulate a sleep deficit, which can negatively impact your health in the long term.
Sleep And Learning
A good night’s sleep preps your brain to learn. Without enough sleep, your brain’s ability to process and organize new information is seriously compromised. Think of a busy college student pulling an all-nighter to finish an assignment: The next day, that student will have a much more difficult time learning new information than if they were to get a good night’s sleep the night prior.
While the ability to learn new information is crucial, the ability to retain that information can’t be underemphasized. Without the ability to retain information, and knowledge will only be stored by the brain in the short term. Healthy sleep contributes to the learning process by facilitating the permanent storage of new information. When you get a good night’s sleep, information is transferred to the cortex of the brain; in the cortex, information is stored long-term and can be recalled in the future.
Sleep And Alzheimer’s Disease
As people age, the amount of deep sleep that they get each night gradually declines. By the age of 80, brain waves found during deep sleep are so low that they’re virtually immeasurable. With this in mind, it’s not surprising that previous sleep disruption is a key factor in Alzheimer’s disease.
Amyloid-beta is a toxic protein that’s a key factor in Alzheimer’s disease development. This protein aggregates and builds plaques in the brain. Deep sleep supports the brain’s self-cleaning process, which flushes out harmful substances including amyloid-beta. So, getting enough high-quality sleep each night throughout adulthood is important to prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.
Sleep And Social Interaction
Remarkably, people who haven’t gotten enough sleep have been shown to steer clear of social interaction. This is linked to the shifts within the brain that occur with sleep deprivation, which lead to changes in emotions, behaviors, and even metabolic processes. As a result, frequent sleep deprivation can increase the probability that an individual experiences loneliness, along with other mental health concerns.
There’s no doubt that sleep plays a powerful role in your ongoing wellness. There are many things that can contribute to poor sleep. Hormone imbalance, diet, stress, and lack of exercise can all play a role. To learn more about strategies, supplements, and medical treatments to improve the quality of your sleep, schedule an appointment at Heim Regenerative Medicine Center today.
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