Seal off the memory hole

Have you been forgetting things a bit more often than you used to? Like the phone numbers? It could be because your brain is tired. Or, it could be because you are not having a good sleep. We know that with age, memory declines and it becomes difficult to recall even the basics. Work and studies are affected as well, even for the younger ones who may find it difficult to remember the tasks and procedures. It is known that the loss of memory is connected to the ageing brain cells that gradually die. While that may not get corrected, there can be a possible way out: to boost the sleep. Slow-wave sleep is critically important for cementing new memories you’ve recently learned. It is like clicking the ‘save’ button. At least that’s what researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, are claiming. 

Their experiments have showed that bad sleep affects memory and with age this can increase when both body and the brain take the strain of time. In their study that was published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, researchers experimented with 36 people across age groups—in their 20s and 70s. The scientists have shown a region of the brain, called the medial prefronal cortex, can predict how much deep, or slow-wave, sleep a person would have. That part of the brain is essential for entering deep sleep, but with age the region degrades. The amount of deep sleep helps predict how much one can remember. The experiments showed that younger person with good sleep have better memory than older persons with bad sleep. The problem in sleeping can be the early signs of Alzheimer’s.     

In case of an elderly person whose brain cells are ageing, researchers say they can boost the sleep by stimulating the right region of the brain with electricity during the night. And even in case of younger people, the stimulation has proved to be good.

But, otherwise, what are the ways to boost sleep? To begin with, one must avoid noisy and uncomfortable setting. Sleep requires peaceful environs. If that is missing, it is unlikely that one will get good sleep. There should be a specific time for going to bed, the earlier the better. One must not drink alcohol immediately before going to sleep. The perception that alcohol helps in our sleep is wrong. In a recent study published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, researchers from the London Sleep Centre have shown that alcohol disrupts sleep cycle. One may fall asleep fast, but the sleep gets fragmented.

Moreover, one must avoid stimulants like coffee and anything that contains caffeine. Large meals, especially that contain a chemical called tyramine (examples include bacon, cheese, nuts and red wine) can keep us awake at night.We have to ensure that our body temperature remains good enough for the sleep. Usually, it goes down a bit as we sleep. But if the temperature in the room goes a bit too high or too low, sleep will get affected. And finally, one must not go to sleep with a stressful mind. Slow music, reading a book and a warm glass of milk may help.

It all may be easier to say, but it has to be practised. Once the sleep gets better, memory becomes healthy. Which means error in work and studies get reduced. And you’d remember the phone numbers.