Quantity and quality of your sleep, once again, has been demonstrated to impact cognitive restoration and overall mental health. The quality of your restorative sleep is equally important to the quantity of your sleep.
This One Sleep Trick Can Improve Your Memory
From a University of Oregon study published in the Journal of Clinical and Sleep Medicine:
Researchers looked at long-term data collected from around 30,000 adults over age 50 in six nations and found that six to nine hours per night is the ideal amount of sleep for older adults in order to maintain the highest cognitive abilities. People who received fewer than six hours or more than nine hours performed significantly worse on a battery of cognitive tests than people who slept in the intermediate range. Cognitive tests measured memory, recall, and verbal fluency.
As further explained in Science World Report:
"We wanted to look at aging, particularly dementia and cognitive decline as people get older, and the importance of sleep. Our results provide compelling evidence that sleep matters a lot," said lead author Theresa E. Gildner, a doctoral student in the UO's anthropology department. "In all six countries, which are very different culturally, economically and environmentally -- despite all these differences -- you see similar patterns emerging."
Improving Memory Cognition with Sleep Hygiene
From the Cleveland Clinic, 4 sleep hygiene methods for improving sleep include:
- Treat getting enough sleep as if it is as important as taking a medicine.
- Develop a sleep schedule and routine.
- Put away the smart phones and tablets.
- If you do wake up during the night, avoid looking at the clock.
From Psych Central, 9 sleep hygiene methods for improving sleep include:
- Set a schedule and keep a regular sleep schedule.
- Exercise.
- Avoid caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol.
- Have a relaxing bedtime ritual.
- Sleep until sunlight.
- Don’t lie in bed awake.
- Control your room environment and temperature.
- Darken your bedroom — completely.
- See a doctor if your sleeping problem continues.
The most important sleep hygiene tip for getting sufficient sleep is to talk to your doctor if you're tired or sleepy.
Concerned you aren't getting enough sleep? If you or someone you care about snores or is tired and fatigued during the day, sleep-disordered breathing (and sleep apnea) may be a serious risk. Get your sleep tested today by SleepSomatics, a professionally credentialed and accredited sleep test center located in Austin since 1999. Call 512.323.9253.
