Sleep Is Necessary For Your Brain Health

Sleep is one of the most critical factors contributing to good health. Doctors recommend adults get 7 to 8 hours of rest every night. But the importance of getting quality sleep goes beyond the physical benefits. Over the past decades, researchers have found evidence that sleeping well also benefits the brain.

If you snore and have other symptoms of sleep apnoea, this evidence points to the need to get treatment to protect your brain health -- and overall health.

Why The Body Needs Sleep

When you sleep, your body’s mechanisms enable the rest that is vital to your overall health. Sleep allows the brain and body to slow down and recover from the day’s activity, which promotes better physical and mental performance the next day -- and over the long-term.

When you don’t get adequate sleep, these processes are short-circuited, so thinking, concentration, energy, and mood are affected.

What Happens During Sleep

Every night, virtually every part of the body experiences important changes during sleep. When we sleep, thousands of neurons in the brain will switch from wake mode to sleep mode, sending signals throughout the body.

While the biological role of sleep still isn’t fully understood, research shows that it strengthens the cardiovascular and immune systems and helps regulate metabolism. What happens during sleep can be seen in these changes in core bodily processes:

• The brain stores new information and gets rid of toxic waste.

• Nerve cells communicate and reorganize, which supports healthy brain function.

• The body repairs cells, restores energy, and releases molecules like hormones and proteins.

Sleep Cleans Your Brain

When you sleep, your brain’s lymphatic (waste clearance) system clears out waste from the central nervous system. This removes toxic byproducts from your brain, which build up throughout the day.

Research suggests that sleep converts short-term memories into long-term memories, and erases unneeded information that might clutter the nervous system.

Sleep affects many aspects of brain function, including learning, memory, problem-solving skills, creativity. decision making, focus, and concentration.

Sleep Improves Emotional Well-being

Sleep is also necessary for emotional health. During sleep, brain activity increases in areas that regulate emotion, which supports healthy brain function and emotional stability.

For example, sleep can help regulate emotion within the amygdala. This part of the brain is in charge of the fear response, and controls your reaction when you face a perceived threat like a stressful situation.

When you get enough sleep, the amygdala can respond in a more adaptive way. But if you’re sleep-deprived, the amygdala is more likely to overreact.

These studies have concluded that the neurological system requires periodic cleanses. This also confirms a link between sleep disorders and neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia.

The Link With Dementia

A growing body of research has identified a connection between conditions like sleep apnoea and the risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s. In one study, scientists found that participants with severe sleep apnoea had a larger amount of amyloid, which is an Alzheimer’s marker found in spinal fluid.

More research has been done recently. In 2019, a study examined the link between the buildup of a specific protein known as an Alzheimer’s marker, and the presence of obstructive sleep apnoea.

Researchers agreed the risk of developing dementia increases in obstructive sleep apnoea patients. In apnoea patients, the airways collapse while they are asleep -- a blockage of the respiratory system that increases pressure in the chest and the brain, so it’s more difficult for neurological waste to clear out.

Generally, researchers conclude that sufficient high-quality sleep is essential to prevent cognitive impairment and disease. Sleep is crucial to having a good memory, concentration ability, learning, and creativity. In short, sufficient rest can have a beneficial impact on every task we need in our day-to-day lives.

If you’re having difficulty sleeping well at night, it’s important to determine the cause. This is especially vital if you believe you may have sleep apnoea. The first step towards better health is speaking with a sleep specialist.

Somnowell Can Help

If you snore and have other symptoms of sleep apnoea, speak with our team to learn if you’re a good candidate for the Somnowell Chrome sleep apnoea device. This device helps patients get the rest they need (and their partners as well) as it stops the snoring and other sleep apnoea symptoms. Don’t take a chance with your health, including your brain health. We encourage you to make the call now.