FERNWOOD FITNESS - PULSE eMagazine - Issue#14 - Flipbook - Page 45
Sleep Prepares the Brain
for Learning
When we’re well rested, our brains
are in a much better place to absorb
new information. Think of sleep like
charging your brain’s battery. After
a good sleep, we can pay better
attention, concentrate more easily
and take in new ideas with less effort.
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Sleep also helps new information
stick. During the night, our brains
replay what we’ve learned and
experienced throughout the day.
This helps to strengthen the neural
connections that store those
memories, so we’re more likely to
remember them later on.
Interestingly, different stages of sleep
support different types of memory.
So whether you’re learning to play the
piano or trying to memorise facts for
a test, sleep gives your brain the time
it needs to sort, store and strengthen
those skills and pieces of information.
‘Sleep On It’ – There’s a Reason
That Saying Exists
Ever been told to “sleep on it” before
making a big decision? There’s
science behind that advice. Sleep
doesn’t just help us remember —
it can also boost creativity and
problem-solving. While we snooze,
our brains keep working, 昀椀nding new
ways to look at things and sometimes
helping us come up with fresh
solutions to problems. So next time
you’re stuck on something tricky, a
solid night’s sleep might be just what
you need to 昀椀gure it out.
The Foggy Brain Effect of Too
Little Sleep
We’ve all had those days where we
feel foggy, 昀氀at and easily distracted.
Often, that’s the result of not getting
enough sleep. When we’re sleepdeprived, our ability to concentrate,
learn, and recall information takes a
hit. In fact, being awake for 18 hours
straight affects your reaction time
and focus in a similar way to having a
blood alcohol concentration of 0.05%.
That’s the legal drink-driving limit in
many parts of Australia — so it’s no
surprise we’re not at our best.
We’re also less alert at certain times
of the day. Performance tends to dip
between 2–4am and again around
2–4pm. For shift workers, these
periods can be particularly risky,
especially if they’re already running
low on sleep. Understanding these
natural dips in alertness is crucial for
managing fatigue, both on the job
and on the road.
Sleep Loss Affects
Your Decisions Too
It’s not just thinking and memory
that take a hit when we’re tired —
our decision-making goes downhill
too. Studies show that after just a
week of getting 昀椀ve hours of sleep a
night, people make riskier choices on
gambling tasks, act more impulsively,
and show poorer judgement
compared to those who get a full
eight hours.
Brain scans reveal why this
happens. When we’re sleepdeprived, the parts of our brain
that help us weigh up negative
consequences become less active,
while the parts that respond to
rewards go into overdrive. In other
words, we’re more likely to take
risks, misjudge situations, and
overlook potential downsides
— which can lead to mistakes,
accidents and even injuries.
