There are steps that one can take to protect and strengthen the brain, particularly the hippocampus, so it continues to function well. One of these is getting enough sleep.

Studies show that memory and learning is impacted when a person is even slightly sleep-deprived. Although it is known that the function of the hippocampus is impaired when exposed to the chemicals that body produces when subjected to chronic stress (1), a lack of sleep will inhibit neurogenesis, the ability to create new neural networks, in the hippocampus even when the biological markers for stress are not present (2).

According to the CDC, adults should get 7-8 hours of sleep each night (3). Yet 50-70 million Americans do not get this much sleep due to sleep and wakefulness disorders (4). In addition to memory impairment, a lack of sleep is also possibly the cause of a number of ther disorders such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease and depression (3).

There is evidence that individuals who learn to develop good sleep hygiene, including practicing mindful mediation, tend to experience a greater improvement in the quality of their sleep and a decrease in symptoms associated with insomnia, depression and fatigue as compared to people receiving pharmaceutical interventions (5).

 

Sources

1. Cassilhas RC, Lee KS, Venâncio DP, Oliveira MG, Tufik S, de Mello MT et al. Resistance exercise improves hippocampus-dependent memory. Med Biol [Internet]. 2012[cited 2015 Feb 20];45(12):1215-20. Available from: PubMed.

2. Meerlo P, Mistlberger RE, Jacobs BL, Heller HC, McGinty D. New neurons in the adult brain: the role of sleep and consequences of sleep loss. Sleep Med Rev. [Internet]. 2009[cited 2015 Feb 20];13(3):187-94. Available fromhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18848476

3. Centers for Disease Control (US.) Are you getting enough sleep? [Internet]. Atlanta (GA): Centers for Disease Control; 2014 Apr 14 [cited 2015 Feb 20] Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/features/sleep/

4. Colten HR, Altevogt BM. Institute of Medicine (US). Committee on Sleep Medicine and Research; Sleep Disorders and Sleep Deprivation: An Unmet Public Health Problem [Internet]. Washington (DC): National Academies Press; 2006 [cited 2015 Feb 20]. Available from:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK19961/
5. O’Connor A. Meditation for a good night’s sleep. New York Times. Well Blog. 2015 [cited Feb 23] Available from: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/23/meditation-for-a-good-nights-sleep/?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&region=CColumn&module=MostEmailed&version=Full&src=me&WT.nav=MostEmailed&_r=0

 

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