We don’t know exactly why we dream, but we do know that our brain is active when we sleep. Did you know that humans spend about a third of their lives asleep? Not getting enough sleep is worse for us than not eating enough food.
When we sleep, our brain cleans out toxins, stores memories, and makes important connections so that we can be more productive when we wake up.
Do people who make more money sleep better? Or do they make more money because they sleep better? Let’s break it down! Sleep is the brain’s way of saying, “I’ll take care of things now.”
There are two groups of cells in the brain that make us fall into a deep sleep. About 45 minutes after we close our eyes, our muscles relax and our breathing slows down. This deep sleep is important for our brain to recover and create new memories.
This is also when we learn and remember things, so it’s better to go to bed instead of staying up all night studying. Studies show that getting better sleep can improve our memory by up to 40%.
After about 70 minutes of sleeping, we enter the Rapid Eye Movement (REM) stage. During REM sleep, our brain becomes very active, almost as if we’re awake. Our breathing and heart rate increase and our eyes move rapidly. This is when we dream.
We forget about 90% of our dreams within 10 minutes of waking up. Some dreams we’re happy to forget. But what our brain does while we sleep is always amazing.
Do you ever wake up feeling refreshed and ready to start the day? That’s because your brain worked hard while you were asleep. It creates memories and prepares you for what’s ahead.
While we’re in REM sleep, our brain transfers memories from our motor cortex to our temporal lobe, where they become long-term memories. This is why we don’t forget how to do certain things, like driving a car or playing a sport, once we’ve learned them.
Even if you’re not learning something new, your brain is still making connections while you sleep. A study found that people are more likely to come up with creative ideas after waking up. So sleeping well can help us solve problems in a creative way.
When we sleep, our brain also clears out toxins that can cause diseases like Alzheimer’s or Dementia. It releases a cerebrospinal fluid that washes away these harmful substances. Some cerebrospinal fluid is absorbed back into the brain.
So, can more sleep make us smarter? It may not raise our intelligence, but it will definitely improve our well-being. If you want to be happy, make sure to get a good night’s sleep.
Besides, our brain needs space to learn more interesting things about our incredible bodies.
