Your Brain on Sleep: The Healing Effects of Sleep on Your Mind

It's not uncommon to hear people rave about the benefits of adequate sleep when it comes to repairing the body. But it's also worth talking about how sleep impacts the brain. You probably know how challenging it is to get through the day when you only had four hours of shuteye the previous night. Aside from keeping you alert, however, sufficient sleep also comes with a slew of other healing effects on your mind.

1) Removes toxins from the brain

Sleep experts have always believed that non-REM sleep clears the brain of toxin buildup. However, it's only recently that they were able to determine the process behind this. According to a study from Boston University, non-REM sleep stimulates the release of cerebrospinal fluid. This bright, watery liquid essentially washes over the brain, as if to give it some deep cleaning.

The cerebrospinal fluid rushes in and gets rid of metabolic buildup, including beta-amyloid and tau, which are associated with a higher risk for developing Alzheimer's disease. Since this process doesn't happen when you're awake, sleep researchers recommend getting enough sleep each night to ensure that the cerebrospinal fluid can have enough time to do its job. Insufficient non-REM sleep means those nasty proteins will remain in your brain, causing it to function at a less than optimal level. Kate Barrington at BedAdvisor.com recommends investing in the right kind of mattress for your particular body type to avoid disruptions in your non-REM sleep.

2) Boosts memory consolidation

It's standard advice to get enough sleep to help improve your memory. But how does this work exactly? According to researchers, the brain doesn't just shut off when you're sleeping. Instead, it acts as a replay center that reviews new memories and stores them for future reference.

This is confirmed by MIT researchers in a study about the link between sleep and memory retention. They measured the brain activity of mice that had to go through a maze. When those mice were sleeping, their brains were activated in the same way when they were in the labyrinth, proving that the mind was replaying new memories even while dozing off.

3) Helps manage emotions

Sometimes, it feels like an uphill battle to manage stress. Things get even more complicated when you don't get enough sleep. In one study, researchers found that insufficient REM sleep caused participants to feel more irritable and become unable to handle their emotions and stress. The reason is that a lack of REM sleep causes the amygdala to misfunction.

Getting good quality is crucial in helping the brain deal with emotional situations. For instance, ample REM sleep allows you to wake up with a better perspective on the issue you're facing. You may feel less bothered by a stressful event and put lesser emotional significance on it, enabling you to push through your day with more positivity.

Healthy sleeping habits can impact your brain in more ways than you can imagine. New research seems to crop up every year that proves this point. This means that your goal should be on getting the best quality sleep so you can experience these benefits.