Written by: James Phelan, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
We’ve always known that quality sleep is good for your brain, but research tells us how and why. Studies find that when you sleep, your brain removes toxic proteins from its neurons that are by-products of neural activity when you’re awake. The catch here is that your brain can only adequately remove these toxic proteins when you have sufficient quality sleep. When you don’t get high-quality, deep sleep, the toxic proteins remain in your brain cells, wreaking havoc and ultimately impairing your ability to think. This slows your ability to process information and problem solve, kills your creativity, and increases your emotional reactivity.
High-quality sleep (notice I did not say quantity) can be life-changing, even life-saving. Poor sleep has been shown to increase the risk of many life-threatening conditions, including cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes. Not getting quality sleep can increase anxiety and depression too. Are you getting the impression that sleep is important? In my work, I treat sleep as paramount for the reasons mentioned. I also treat sleep because I know what getting consistently high-quality sleep can mean to a person’s everyday life.
John came to see me because he was depressed. He complained of lack of energy, poor diet, irritable or sad most days. He didn’t want to be around people even though he considered himself to be an outgoing and engaging person. I came to find that John’s sleep habits were terrible. John believed the myths about sleep that many people believe-more time in bed means a better chance of getting a good night’s sleep; naps are a good way to “catch up on sleep”; alcohol or sleep aids help to get a good night’s sleep. I was able to educate John on how to get a good night’s sleep regularly and consistently.
Think of the bedroom and the bed as a sanctuary of sleep. When John thought about his bedroom, he would get a little anxious because it reminded him of how hard it was to sleep. His room wasn’t that comfortable, and neither was his bed.
The Bed
The bed should be comfortable and inviting. We want to create a mind-body connection to the bed that promotes sleep. The bed should only be for sleep and sex. Don’t eat, watch TV, read or play on your phone while in bed.
The Room
John came to call his room the “chamber of sleep.” He adjusted the lighting, so it was softer. He adjusted the temperature, so it was cooler. He got a new mattress that was comfortable. He even got black-out shades, so there was very little light coming in (John would wake up when the light would hit the room).
The Nest
The nest is a place to create that you can go to promote sleep either before HHP (head hits the pillow) or when you wake in the middle of the night and have trouble falling back to sleep. John’s nest has a big comfy chair, soft lighting, magazines and catalogs to browse, and headphones to listen to soft music (John likes easy Jazz to help him feel sleepy). The idea is to promote the feeling of sleepiness. Keep in mind there is a difference between tired and sleepy. Tired is how we feel when we have used up a lot of energy or are lacking energy. Sleepy is the heavy eyes, drooping head feeling we get right before falling asleep. Go to bed ONLY when you are sleepy, and you may get what John has-excess energy that he uses to exercise more; vigor for life; an overall sense of well-being.
Sleep well, my friends!
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James Phelan, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Jim Phelan is a leader in the field of psychology and personal transformation. Having trained with the foremost experts in the field he uniquely qualified to offer help in the areas of relationships, stress and anxiety management and sleep disturbance. Jim has studied personal development and the psychology of change since early childhood. He founded Phelan Counseling and Consulting after earning two Master's degrees in the field of counseling and psychology.
