We have known about the importance of sleep for a long time, but even now not everything is known about it. The past year has been productive in terms of discovering new facts about sleep. We decided to bring together all these important discoveries.
1. The brain helps make decisions when we sleep. During sleep, the brain not only processes information, but also makes decisions. A team of French and British scientists observed the brain activity of each of the test subjects in a small group of adults who completed word classification tasks. Scientists have found that when a person sleeps, his brain does not doze off, but continues to work on processing information that comes from outside, and selects the appropriate response scheme to what is happening.
Related related topics: "Sleep of Geniuses: A Sleep Technique to Get 3 Hours of Sleep"
2. Sleep deprivation causes the brain to shrink. Our brains naturally shrink as we age. However, if a person sleeps too little, this process is greatly accelerated. This conclusion was made by scientists from Oxford University. In particular, we are talking about those parts of the brain that are responsible for decision making, thought formation and learning. More research is needed to confirm these findings, but it's still not worth the risk.
3. The brains of people with insomnia are different from those of people who get enough sleep
Researchers have noticed that the brain of a person suffering from insomnia is more active, adapts better to changes, and neurons in the center of movement are more excitable.
4. Sleep deprivation can accelerate the onset of dementia. It has long been known that getting enough sleep improves memory and learning. However, a number of studies this year confirm that sleep deprivation or poor sleep quality may increase the risk of dementia or accelerate its progression.
5. Lack of sleep makes us remember things that never happened. A study was conducted at the University of California, during which experts found that after a significant lack of sleep, people tend to remember things that actually did not exist. This phenomenon is called false memories. It would seem a trifle. But in certain situations in life - for example, when a sleepy person is sure that he turned off the iron without actually doing it - such memory errors can lead to big problems.
6. Family support – important condition treatment of sleep apnea. According to experts, the success of treating a person with obstructive sleep apnea largely depends on the support of loved ones. During the experiments, it turned out that patients more accurately followed the treatment schedule for this disease if they lived with their spouses or loved ones.
7. Pets interfere with sleep. Of course, happy pet owners who just can't get their cat/dog out of bed know what we're talking about. However, such owners may wake up in the middle of the night because they are afraid to pin down their pet's tail, etc. Therefore, sleep experts recommend that you equip your pet with a separate couch and sleep in a bed without your pets.
8. Owls are less prone to morning exercise than larks. In a small study, larks were found to be able to wake up and exercise more easily than owls. The latter, with great difficulty, manage to comply with the exercise regimen.
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