Sleeping for Cognition

Part 3: Reducing the risk of cognitive decline

Read time: 5-7 minutes

“Happiness consists of getting enough sleep. Just that, nothing more.”

- Robert A. Heinlein

What’s the take-home?

•  Over ? of Americans do not get enough sleep
• Failing to get adequate sleep directly impacts cognitive function
• Improving sleep hygiene can benefit sleep and in turn, your cognitive health

Sleep… what’s that?

Did you know? Over ? of Americans do not get enough sleep. And you are probably one of them.

According to the most recent Gallup poll, the average American sleeps 6.8 hours a night, with 40% of us banking less than 6 hours. When considering the fact that 7 hours/night is the recommended amount of sleep, these numbers should feel alarming.

Not sleeping is expensive

We don’t generally think of the financial ramifications when we talk about sleep, but sleep deprivation is a serious and expensive problem for our world’s major economies.

In the United States, 1.2 million working days are lost every year due to insufficient sleep, equating to a massive $411 billion. Second on that list is Japan; they lose 600,000 days and $138.6 billion annually due to sleep loss.

Sleep and cognitive health

Sleep is complex and its importance for health and wellness has been well established. Recent research has laid out some of the reasons why we need sleep, as well as the functions the brain performs while we are sleeping. The following are a few reasons why the brain needs sleep and what happens when we fail to reach recommended amounts:

• Higher levels of anxiety
• Increased symptoms of depression
• Weight gain
• Higher stroke risk
• Increased risk of diabetes
• Increased risk of heart disease

Not only are ALL of these issues risk factors for cognitive decline, but failing to get adequate sleep actually has direct impacts on cognitive function.

Understanding sleep hygiene

Do you remember when you were a kid? You could sleep on command and there was no sleep hygiene to worry about. You felt tired, you laid down, and you fell asleep --- that's all there was to it. Well, it’s probably not quite as easy anymore. With the stresses of work, families, home care, and everything else in your life (COVID-19 anyone?), you need to set yourself up for success.

Fortunately, there is a way for you to do just that! Use the chart above to maximize your ability to not only fall asleep, but stay asleep.

You may be telling yourself, “Everything on that chart is a problem for me!” And you wouldn’t be alone. But avoid trying to change too much too fast. That is a path to failure. The chart above can be a guide to help you understand what to tackle first (and what is likely a lost cause).

Create a sleep cave

A quiet, dark, and cool environment is sleep promoting. Here are some tips for turning your bedroom into a cave of slumber:

• Reduce exposure to outside noise with earplugs or utilize white noise (many apps offer this option)
• Light is a powerful cue telling your brain it is time to start your day; install heavy curtains, blackout shades, or wear an eye mask to block extraneous light 
• Keep your bedroom temperature between 60 and 67°F
• If you share a bed with a pet that keeps waking you up in the middle of the night, think about moving it to the floor or an adjacent room
• Limit your bedroom activities to sleep and sexual activities only! Removing computers, TVs, work materials, and other distracting items out of the room will strengthen the mental connection between your bedroom and sleep

Still stuck?

Look to Neurotrack for help.

Our Brain Care coaches specialize in 1:1 interaction with our users to help them tackle these exact challenges.

Habits are called “habits” for a reason --- they are hard to change.

And you do not need to do it alone.

Wrapping up

Sleep is complicated. But a consistent lack of sleep is detrimental to our cognitive health and research has laid out many reasons why we need sleep - as well as the functions the brain performs while we are sleeping.

Remember: In order to keep our minds going, sometimes we need to shut them down.