Neurologist Explains 5 Ways In Which Sleep Benefits Your Brain

Throughout the week you work hard in order to meet those deadlines, prepare presentations, socialize and complete all those household chores which leaves you with very less time to sleep. You eagerly wait for the weekend  to come so that you can sleep well but end up binge watching your favorite TV series and being sleep deprived. If you are someone who has been caught into this endless circle then you must know that getting a good night’s sleep is something that we all require for proper functioning of the body. Being deprived of sleep can put your physical and mental health at an utmost risk. Where many of us are well aware of the benefits of sleep for our body such as aiding weight loss, keeping your heart healthy, strengthening the heart, maximizing athletic performance, lowering the risk of type 2 diabetes and reducing inflammation. Where the physical benefits of sleep are much talked about, one must also know that getting proper sleep can benefit your brain in several ways as well. From regenerating cells to improving attention, know about these 5 brain benefits of sleeping from Dr. Parthvi Khandar Ravat, Neurologist aka pkdoc.

Benefits of Sleep

Sleep being a natural temporary state of rest where a person becomes physically inactive and unaware about the activities happening in its surroundings. A good sleep is known to be important for proper body functioning as this is the time that your body uses to repair the wear and tear. Here we have listed some of the benefits of sleeping for your brain.

#1. Helps to consolidate memory

Consolidating memories is known to be one of the main functions of sleep. It does so by strengthening the neural connection of the brain and by pruning the unwanted ones back. As our brain makes numerous connections throughout the day, not all of them are useful and worth saving. Getting a good quality sleep helps your brain to streamline these connections and consolidate the memory. 

Moreover, some researchers have also proven that sleep helps a person to remember the things he has learnt during the day. Our brain tends to consolidate the memories it needs and prunes back the ones it doesn’t require. It has been proven that the brain tends to weaken the connections that form the memories that the brain seems to be unimportant.

#2. Helps in Flushing out the Toxins

The way you drink detoxifying drinks to flush out those harmful toxins from your body, similarly a good sleep helps you to flush out the toxins out of your brain. While you're asleep, your brain tends to clear out the toxins more rapidly as compared to when you are awake. As the lymphatic system of our brain tends to open up at night, it helps in removing the toxins out of our brain. This process of detoxification takes place and the space between your brain cells tends to expand a little which helps in clearing the gunk with the help of cerebrospinal fluid. The protein and toxins that get accumulated in our brain throughout the day, get cleared up while we sleep and help in preventing severe conditions such as Alzhiemer’s. 

#3. Improves Concentration

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Also Read: Have Problem Concentrating On Your Work? Here Are 8 Activities Which Can Help You Focus

Due to the emergence of smartphones and the continuous connectivity through social media, a lot many people tend to get distracted easily which has resulted in a shorter attention span and reduced concentration. It has been proved that sleep deprivation leads to low concentration levels and decreasing alertness. When a person is short on sleep, it becomes difficult for him/her to perform tasks or to focus properly. It leaves you confused and hampers your logical reasoning and leads to impared judgement. Lack of sleep makes it difficult for a person to assess a situation in the right manner and hence a person loses its focus.  

#4. Helps in Regenerating Physical Cells

It is a proven fact that proper sleep helps in regenerating and supporting the brain cells.  This happens as sleep helps in the production of cells that are responsible for forming myelin. This myelin is the insulating material that is found on the nerve cells present in the brain and the spinal cord. This myelin is made up of a fatty substance that allows the electrical impulses to transmit efficiently and quickly along the nerve cells. It then works by decreasing the reaction time, speeds up the conduction of nerve impulses and increases temporal precision. 

#5. Helps in Immune System Regularization

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Also Read: Immunity Foods 2021: Dietician-Recommended Superfoods That Made Us Stronger in 2021

Since the virus outbreak and emergence of pandemic, immunity and ways to boost the immune system function are the two things people have been talking about. Where we all have tried drinking that bitter kadha and have started exercising to boost up this immune system functioning, one must know that a good night’s sleep can do it with a little to no effort. Sleeping is known to strengthen a person’s immune system and protect him/her from any kind of diseases and infections. On the other hand sleep deprivation or lack of sleep can result in an impaired immunity. Some researchers have also proven that proper sleep also helps in improving the body’s antibody response. 

(This article is based upon a post by Dr. Parthvi Khandar Ravat, Neurologist aka pkdoc on her instagram handle)