Category: Sleep

People in the study slept more soundly and enjoyed improved memory.

A rocking motion — like that from a hammock — leads to better sleep and boosts memory, new research shows.

Like a child gently rocked to sleep in cradle, adults also respond to a rocking motion during sleep.

People in the study being rocked to sleep fell asleep quicker.

They also slept more soundly and consolidated memories more effectively.

The bed rocked gently from side-to-side once every four seconds by about 10 cm.

Dr Laurence Bayer, study co-author, said:

“Having a good night’s sleep means falling asleep rapidly and then staying asleep during the whole night.

Our volunteers — even if they were all good sleepers — fell asleep more rapidly when rocked and had longer periods of deeper sleep associated with fewer arousals during the night.

We thus show that rocking is good for sleep.”

The study included 18 people whose sleep was monitored in the lab.

The results showed that those who slept on a gently rocking bed went to sleep more quickly, slept more soundly and had better memories when they awoke.

Further investigations showed that gentle rocking motions during sleep help to synchronise neural activity in the thalamo-cortical regions of the brain.

This area is critical for memory consolidation and sleep.

The authors conclude that:

“…applying a rhythmic sensory stimulation, here, using a rocking bed during a whole night of sleep, promotes deep sleep and memory consolidation in healthy sleepers.

These effects may rely on increased SOs and sleep spindles (i.e., fast spindles), which we suggest are attributable to a rocking-induced rhythmic entrainment of thalamocortical activity.”

A previous study has also shown that a rocking motion makes a 45-minute nap more refreshing.

So, taking a nap in a hammock may be better than sitting in an ordinary chair.

The study was published in the journal Current Biology (Perrault et al., 2018).

Why it feels like exercise doesn’t improve sleep — even though it does.

Exercise has long been recommended as a way of improving sleep — except people often report it makes no difference.

Now, a new study reveals the reason.

Exercise does indeed improve sleep quality, but people do not notice it, researchers found.

Despite falling asleep quicker and experiencing deeper sleep, people do not seem to feel it themselves.

One reason may be that people who do not regularly exercise tend to feel more stress and muscle soreness after occasional vigorous exercise, which might counteract the perceived benefits of sleep.

In other words, exercise improves sleep, but this is counter-balanced by feeling more stressed and aching muscles.

The conclusions come from a study of nine men who did 60 minutes of vigorous activity and had their sleep quality measured.

Their brain waves were monitored, focusing on slow wave sleep or deep sleep, which is critical to feeling refreshed on waking.

The researchers used a computational method called coefficient variation of the envelope (CVE).

Professor Kaspar E. Vogt, study co-author, explained:

“CVE is a novel tool for quantifying sleep depth according to the characteristics of brain oscillations.

We wanted to use it to determine whether exercise would improve or decrease sleep quality, in addition to determining whether short bouts of exercise could exert a lasting effect on metabolic state.”

The study’s results were explained by Insung Park and Javier Díaz, study co-authors:

“The results were surprising.

We found that exercise improved the quality of sleep as measured using objective techniques, while the participants reported no change in the quality of their sleep.”

Rather than occasional vigorous activity, the better option is regular moderate activity.

Professor Vogt said:

“The results of the subjective evaluations of sleep quality indicate that regular moderate exercise may be more beneficial for perceived sleep quality than occasional vigorous exercise, which might not have a subjective effect despite objective improvements in sleep.”

The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports (Park et al., 2021).

A lack of sleep leads to memory problems, inability to make plans, poor decision-making and a general brain fog.

Just ten minutes of mindfulness helps the mind and body recover from sleep deprivation, new research finds.

Failing to get 7-8 hours sleep per night is linked to memory problems, inability to make plans, poor decision-making and a general brain fog.

But mindfulness has a remarkable restorative effect.

Ten minutes of mindfulness during the day is enough to compensate for 44 minutes of lost sleep at night, the study of entrepreneurs found.

Here are some mindfulness exercises that are easy to fit into your day.

Dr Charles Murnieks, the study’s first author, said:

“You can’t replace sleep with mindfulness exercises, but they might help compensate and provide a degree of relief.

As little as 70 minutes a week, or 10 minutes a day, of mindfulness practice may have the same benefits as an extra 44 minutes of sleep a night.”

The study followed 105 entrepreneurs, 40% of whom were working 50 hours per week or more and sleeping less than six hours a night.

The results showed that entrepreneurs who engaged in more mindfulness were less exhausted.

A second study of a further 329 entrepreneurs also found that mindfulness could offset the damaging effects of sleep deprivation.

However, mindfulness only works in this context when people are low on sleep.

Some people are getting enough sleep, but still feel exhausted.

Dr Murnieks said:

“If you’re feeling stressed and not sleeping, you can compensate with mindfulness exercises to a point.

But when you’re not low on sleep, mindfulness doesn’t improve those feelings of exhaustion.”

Mindfulness helps to reduce stressors before they lead to exhaustion.

For entrepreneurs and others with long working hours, mindfulness can be beneficial.

Dr Murnieks said:

“There are times when you’re launching a new venture that you’re going to have to surge.

Mindfulness exercises may be one way to provide some relief during those tough stretches.”

The study was published in the Journal of Business Venturing (Murnieks et al., 2019).