Insomnia Shrinks And Poisons Our Brain

Restful sleep is essential for good physical and mental health. Well, when you sleep well, all energy is recovered, neuronal connections improve and memory is stimulated.

During deep sleep there is better oxygenation and the cells are able to regenerate. In this way, the care of all organs is promoted and people can look more rejuvenated.

Apart from that, sleeping well reduces the presence of stress hormones. Thus the heart rate remains regulated, blood levels do not rise excessively and cardiovascular health is protected.

Contrary to these benefits, when a person does not sleep well they have a bad mood. This is because she feels tired and does not find enough energy to achieve a state of well-being.

Added to this, people with insomnia may have difficulty concentrating and performing at their tasks. Well, the body does not feel renewed to be able to perform at its best.

When this factor becomes chronic, the person suffers from anxiety attacks and depression. This is because it is filled with negative emotions, it is difficult for it to establish optimal social ties and it never manages to find fulfillment.

Conditions that insomnia causes to the brain

A study carried out by a group of scientists from the Universities of Oxford and Oslo, revealed that suffering from insomnia has a negative impact on the brain. During the process, 147 people were selected and a large number of them underwent an MRI to evaluate their sleep.

In the analysis it was found that in total 35% of the patients failed to obtain a restorative rest. Likewise, it was evidenced that among all of them there was a factor in common and that was that by not sleeping well, the size of their brain decreased.

The experts added that the consequences of this is that learning processes are hindered because there is not the same space to process thoughts. As an additional factor, individuals find it difficult to memorize and further develop motor skills.

In the same way, when the temporal lobe of the brain is diminished, the handling and understanding of language can also begin to become difficult.

More negative consequences for the brain

For its part, the Autonomous Metropolitan University of Mexico investigated what else could happen to the brain when there is insomnia. To do this, he used rabbits that did not sleep for a total period of 10 days.

When analyzing the results, they discovered that when they stop sleeping, some neurotoxic molecules circulate through the blood and reach the brain. Due to this, they cause neurons to die and cannot regenerate.

This occurs because the barrier between the nervous system and the blood stops working optimally. In this way, they can no longer retain the entry of toxic substances and the brain structure is affected.

Tips for a good night’s sleep

First of all, in order to get a good sleep and take care of the health of the brain, it is essential to always go to sleep at the same time. Thus, the body gets used to that routine and relaxes at that moment because it understands that it is time to rest.

Secondly, it is important that close to sleep time people do not feed their worries. Well, this factor causes them anxiety, tension and continues to expend a large amount of energy.

Lastly, individuals should avoid eating foods that cause them heaviness before going to bed. This since they feel uncomfortable, they do not find a suitable position to accommodate themselves and they cannot rest.