If you find yourself struggling to catch enough ZZZ’s, you’re not alone. Studies indicate that at least a third of adults fail to attain the recommended amount of sleep, with women experiencing sleep issues more frequently than men.
This is concerning because insufficient sleep has been linked to a myriad of health issues, including heart disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and depression. Moreover, it’s associated with learning deficits. A recent study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) found that college students who don’t get enough sleep tend to have lower grade point averages and diminished academic performance. Experts suggest that similar impacts on concentration can be observed in professional settings.
During sleep, various bodily processes and systems slow down, allowing for rest and recovery from the day’s activities. Heart rate and muscles relax, healing processes occur, and body temperature decreases. Notably, the brain’s learning and memory consolidation mechanisms become particularly active during sleep.
«When we sleep, our brain consolidates the information we’ve learned throughout the day,» explains Rajkumar Dasgupta, a sleep medicine and pulmonary specialist at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. «Being well-rested enhances our ability to stay focused and avoid distractions.»
Indeed, sufficient sleep—typically seven to nine hours per night for adults and eight to ten for teenagers, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—has been associated with various cognitive benefits. These include improved test scores, enhanced problem-solving abilities, better learning outcomes, improved behavioral performance, heightened potential for creative insights and innovative ideas, and enhanced information retention. Additionally, research published in 2022 by the Nature Portfolio journal Humanities and Social Sciences Communications highlights how sleep deprivation diminishes cognitive function, making concentration, focus, and performance more challenging.
Sleep discrepancies by gender
Sleep disparities between genders are evident, with women facing unique challenges that may exacerbate the consequences of sleep deprivation.
Research indicates that women are more susceptible to various sleep disorders, such as disturbed sleep patterns, insomnia, and unpleasant dreams. Hormonal fluctuations linked to menstruation, particularly low levels of the sleep-regulating hormone progesterone during ovulation, often contribute to these sleep disturbances.
Rebecca Spencer, a professor of psychological and brain sciences at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, highlights that the transition to pre-menopause and menopause can further disrupt sleep patterns for women. Additionally, responsibilities such as caregiving for children and family members can impede women’s ability to obtain adequate sleep, as noted by Dasgupta.
Given these challenges, it’s crucial for women to prioritize both the quantity and quality of their sleep. «Women don’t necessarily require more sleep overall, but those experiencing poor sleep would benefit from improved memory and comprehension with better sleep,» explains Spencer.
Why sleep is the real memory maker
The significance of sleep extends beyond enhanced learning and comprehension; it plays a pivotal role in memory retention and recall. According to Spencer, sleep is intricately involved in memory consolidation, the brain’s process of organizing, reactivating, and storing newly acquired information and experiences for future retrieval.
Spencer elucidates that while memory consolidation occurs to some extent during wakefulness, its efficacy is heightened during sleep. During sleep, the brain engages in robust memory consolidation, effectively solidifying the memories formed throughout the day.
In essence, sleep serves as the brain’s real memory maker, facilitating the retention and accessibility of learned information and experiences.