Ilchi Lee

Catching enough zzz’s is an exercise in cognitive restoration

You’ve heard the expression: “why don’t you sleep on it.” According to Michael Strykers, a research professor at the University of California-San Francisco, there’s some merit to this figure of speech that suggests that while we rest, our minds work.

“If you reviewed your notes and then slept,” Strykers said, “you’d achieve as much plasticity, or ‘learning,’ in the brain as if you’d pulled an all-nighter.”

Many studies, like Strykers’ study of cats, suggest that getting a good night’s sleep, at least seven to eight hours, can do wonders for our brains. While scientists struggle to pinpoint the exact reason why, they generally agree that when we sleep our brain engages in two activities:

1)Repairing neurons.
2)Processing and reorganizing information and memories.

We can even find answers to problems in our sleep, which explains why we sometimes wake up with a solution to a problem that wrenched our mind the previous day.

If we don’t get enough sleep, the neurons in the brain begin to break down and our cognitive abilities are lowered. This leads to impaired memory, increased mood swings, lowered performance and a general lack of concentration.

The average person spends up to one-third of her or his life sleeping. Without sleep, we would die. Yet no one really knows why. Apparently it’s something we need to “sleep on” a little more.

1 Comments

cloud February 06, 2008 Votes: +0	Jung Choong breathing and energy mediatation also lower the brain waves to an alpha level, like sleep, so people who take a lot of energy from their breathing and let their minds rest and repair through meditation don't need that much sleep. 5 or 6 hours will do fine! report abuse vote down vote up