How does poor sleep affect my brain health?

To easily an vividly remember the events of the past is a sign of good mental and brain health. But, did you know that one of the best ways to ensure our memory is at its optimum for mid-terms or finals is getting good quality sleep? This doesn’t mean long hours of sleep, but rather high quality deep sleep?

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What happens when your sleep quality os poor? Here are some ways your brain could be getting hurt when your body doesn’t get quality sleep:

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Decreased memory retention

Let me brief you on how memory is stored by the brain. During long hours of sleep, electrical impulses pass through your brain nerves. At the top of these impulses are brain spindles. Brain spindles help in file transfer from your short term memory reservoir to the long term memory reservoir where memories are permanently stored. This mechanism only occurs when you get a deep sleep. This implies that when you don’t have enough quality sleep, the ability of your brain to retain information becomes a difficult task. Trish at sleepdelivered provides a review of one mattress which might help you sleep better, and thus retain memories more!

Reduced productivity

The brain is your center of productivity. Every time you want to perform a task, the brain is critical in your thinking process. As a student, you are required to think with both speed and accuracy. This is why going on late-night cram sessions all week before an exam is not particularly good. Low sleep dumbs you down and makes you think slower and less accurately.

Low hormonal production

The brain houses the hypothalamus and pituitary glands which both function in the production of hormones. What hormones do is to regulate most of your day-to-day activities. An example of such an important hormone is ADH (antidiuretic hormone) which functions in osmoregulation of the body. During cold seasons have you noticed you urinate more and sweat less, while during a hot day you sweat more and urinate less? It’s the antidiuretic hormone that backs up this phenomenon. Not giving the brain enough rest could mess up thsi mechanism and disturb the fluid balance in your body.

Dizziness

Dizzyness can really ruin your day. When driving it could be considered to have the same effect and consequences on an in individual as driving drunk. Studies show that poor quality sleep or complete lack of sleep –insomnia, could lead to dizziness and therefore major accidents.

Lowered sexual drive

An individual’s ability to getting aroused sexually is dependent on how the brain visualizes an object or person. This brain function is not easily performed when you don’t have a good night’s rest. This inability could lead to depleted energy, sleepiness and increased tension — all which kills the sex drive of an individual.

The moral of the story: get enough sleep!

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