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Written By: Agencies | Updated : May 22, 2014 12:22 PM IST
Are you tired all the time? Do you feel restless and fatigued during the day but can't sleep properly at night? All these can make you lethargic and less productive. It is important to provide your body good amounts of rest in order to recharge your batteries and prevent a burn-out.
Not getting a full night's sleep can actually hamper your brain. According to researchers at the University of California, San Diego, the poor sleepers struggled in focussing part of their brain during memory tests. The findings, published in the journal Sleep, have shown how people with insomnia not just struggle to sleep at night, but it also has consequences for them during the day in terms of delayed reaction times and memory. The study compared 25 people who said they had insomnia with as many describing themselves as good sleepers. MRI brain scans were carried out while they performed increasingly challenging memory tests. (Read: What's not letting you sleep)
Sean Drummond, one of the researchers, said: 'We found that insomnia subjects did not properly turn on brain regions critical to a working memory task and did not turn off 'mind-wandering' brain regions irrelevant to the task. 'This data helps us understand that people with insomnia not only have trouble sleeping at night, but their brains are not functioning as efficiently during the day.'
Read more about causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of insomnia.
In order to make sure you get a good night's sleep, here are some tips you could follow:
Don't sleep in: The most important thing about establishing a healthy sleep pattern is to wake up on time.
Don't use electronics right before sleeping: Many people use their phones or laptops right before they sleep. These gadgets emit light that signals the brain that it is time to wake up.
Nap strategically: A mid-day snooze often helps in optimizing alertness, productivity and creativity.
Engage in physical activity: Physical activity is very important, people who do this often sleep better.
Think about sleep before sleeping: It is very important to prepare yourself for sleeping an hour or so before bed.
Eat right: Eat and drink the right stuff at the right time. (Read: Do you binge sleep on weekends?)
Source: IANS/Huffington Post
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