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Take Control of Your Health
Mercola: The Secret to Good Health? Sleep on It
by Joseph Mercola, D.O.
Dr. Joseph Mercola
of Mercola.com
Research has established that sleeping may be far more important than we realize.In addition to physical restoration and healing, memory consolidation takes place, and “rehearsals” during sleep have been found to strengthen your memory. A recent study found that while you sleep, your brain processes the day’s information by combing through recently formed memories; stabilizing, copying, and filing these memories to make them more useful and easier to retrieve. An equally fascinating finding is how sleep impacts your creativity and creative problem-solving skills. Sleep, it turns out, is imperative for coming to new insights and being able to see new creative solutions to old problems because while you sleep, your mind can discover hidden or novel connections between seemingly random pieces of information. This process not only helps you find the meaning in what you have learned, but by forging connections among differing pieces of information, the odds that a creative idea or insight will surface increases. “Sleeping on it” may indeed be the most practical solution when you’re faced with a tricky problem
How Much Sleep Do You Need?
Generally speaking, adults need to get between six and eight hours of sleep. But there are exceptions. Some people can function well on as few as five hours a night, while others need up to 10. However, there is some suggestion that sleeping more than eight hours may actually cause problems similar to not enough sleep. A good rule of thumb to follow is that if you feel tired when you wake up, you probably aren't getting enough sleep. Another clue is if you find yourself frequently yawning throughout the day. There is no better example of optimal wellness than to be in harmony with your deepest function—sleep. The first step is to value sleep as one of your most precious resources for health and happiness. If you do that, you can figure out all the other things that would help you to sleep really well, and you'll be better able to make health-conscious choices during the day.
