How Sleep Impacts Cognitive Performance And The Sharpness Of Our Mental States

Let me tell you something: I don’t get enough sleep.

In fact, most of us don’t – or don’t feel like we do, anyway, regardless of the hours we might get on a particular day. The phrase “How are you?” is so often answered in turn by “I’m doing alright, just tired” that we don’t even bat an eye when we hear that nowadays.

So what does that do to us?

Really, when it gets down to it, what is it that we do to ourselves when we don’t get enough sleep? And how do we fix this problem of being so tired 24/7?

Those are the questions I’ll answer in this article.

First, what is sleep?

Obviously, we all know what that thing is that happens when we close our eyes at night, that’s not my question.

What is it that our bodies are doing? What are the benefits of it? Are there any drawbacks we don’t know of? “How long should we sleep for?” Is a great question, but even with the answer: why?

So here’s what I have found:

Healthline has a fantastic article on this subject. They state the fact that even after years of study, we still don’t fully understand the function of sleep.

What we do know about sleep is simple: we use it to conserve energy, repair damage get rid of waste, and regulate emotion. All of these things can be found in further detail in the article I’ve linked to above.

So to an extent, we know what sleep is. The verdict: it’s good. So many things happen during the experience of sleep, and we do so much better with more sleep than less.

Now that we’re on the same page with what sleep is, let’s discuss mental sharpness.

What is mental sharpness?

Mental sharpness refers to the ability to think quickly and accurately, to process information effectively, and to make sound judgments. It encompasses various cognitive processes such as attention, memory, perception, and reasoning. Mental sharpness is critical for daily functioning, including decision-making, problem-solving, and creativity. Cognitive decline, which is a normal part of aging, can result in reduced mental sharpness and cognitive performance.

Sometimes I feel like my mind is as sharp as a razor, and sometimes – this happened recently – I forget where I left something ten times in a day. It feels like a hit or miss, and sometimes I’m just going to have that mental sharpness and sometimes I’m not. But what if we could be on our game more consistently? What if it could be common for us to feel like we’ve got razor-sharp minds, and not forgetful brains of mush?

There has got to be a way to keep our mental states sharp and to sharpen them even more. So I looked it up and found a couple of easy ways to exercise your mind without pushing yourself too hard.

Here’s what I found:

1. Puzzles and Brainteasers: Solving puzzles like crosswords, Sudoku, jigsaw puzzles, and brain-teasers challenges your brain and can improve your analytical thinking.

2. Reading: Reading books, especially non-fiction, and challenging literature can expand your knowledge, vocabulary, and critical thinking skills.

3. Learning a New Language: Learning a new language stimulates your brain by requiring you to memorize new words, understand grammatical structures, and think in different ways.

4. Playing Musical Instruments: Learning to play an instrument not only enhances your musical abilities but also improves memory, coordination, and problem-solving skills.

Learning how to sleep and learning how our minds can be exercised are seriously important things to learn. We’ve got to watch ourselves, learn how to take care of ourselves, and to grow as people.

I hope this article helped you and you got something out of it. If you have any questions or think there’s more to be added, please let me know in the comment section below and I’ll jump right on it!

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