Reader\'s Digest Canada - 05.2020

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YOUR SLEEP

According to Statistics Can-

ada, more than one third of

Canad ians are chronically

sleep deprived—and that's bad news

for our brains, which perform worse

after even a single night of inadequate

rest. Sleep not only cleans the brain of

unneeded by-products from its daily

functioning, it’s also crucial for encod-

ing new impressions and knowledge

into your long-term memory.

In a University of California San

Diego study, researchers found that

well-rested participants remembered

twice as many new vocabulary words

as those who didn’t get enough sleep.

And when it comes to our motor

skills, they drop in speed by 20 per

cent when we've underslept.

If you’re having a difficult time get-

ting the recommended seven to nine

hours of shut-eye a night, doctors rec-

ommend assessing your sleep habits.

Are you keeping to a schedule?

Go to bed and wake up at the same time

every day, even on weekends. When

you rise, open your blinds so the sun

can kick-start your circadian rhythm,

the inner clock that regulates your level

of wakefulness throughout the day and

night. Limit naps to 30 minutes a day.

What are you consuming?

Avoid caffeine after lunch. And while

drinking alcohol before bedtime can

help put you to sleep, it increases the

chance you’ll wake up in the middle of

the night. That’s because it increases

the production of a chemical called

adenosine, which makes you groggy—

but only temporarily. When the ade-

nosine wears off, you wake up.

Do you make time for shutting down?

Two hours before bedtime, stop using

screens—the blue light they emit can

confuse your body, causing it to pro-

duce less melatonin, a hormone that

makes us sleepy. Instead, create a

relaxing ritual to end your day, like

reading or having a shower.

Is your room conducive to sleep?

Channel your ancient ancestors by

thinking of your bedroom as a cave.

It should be cool, dark and quiet.

reader’s digest

36 may 2020