MIT Neuroscience Says This Is What Happens to Your Brain Without Enough Sleep

On my last day at work a few years back, they gave me a going-away party, and it turned into something more like a roast. One of the top leaders told a story I’d sort of hoped he’d forgotten. 

The context was when my wife and I were brand new parents and we were struggling through extreme sleep deprivation. After one especially rough night, I came into work for a key meeting.

Our boss told the story in a way that had everyone laughing:

• How I called our CEO by the wrong name three times.
• How I botched simple math and insisted I’d gotten it right.
• How I nearly fell asleep at the conference table.

The punchline: “Then Murphy said, ‘Sorry. I slept only 45 minutes last night and it turns out that’s not enough.’ And then he stood up and walked out the door.”

Why you can’t pay attention

Maybe you’ve been there. Someone’s talking directly to you, maybe even asking you a question, and your mind just disappears.

Now, a new neuroscience study from MIT suggests a fascinating explanation. In short, when your attention vanishes after a sleepless night,your brain is literally flushing itself clean.

Writing in the journal Nature Neuroscience, MIT researchers found that during those frustrating moments when you can’t pay attention, waves of cerebrospinal fluid are washing through your brain—the exact same cleansing process that normally happens while you’re sound asleep.

Your brain tries to catch up—at a cost

The MIT team, led by Laura Lewis, an associate professor with a PhD in neuroscience, recruited 26 volunteers who were each tested twice: once after a full night of sleep, and once after staying up all night in the lab under constant supervision.

During both sessions, participants performed simple attention tasks while researchers monitored their brain activity, heart rate, breathing, pupil size, and, crucially, the flow of cerebro-spinal fluid in their brains.

The sleep-deprived participants performed significantly worse, missing more cues and responding more slowly. But the striking finding was what happened during those attention lapses.

At the exact moment when focus disappeared, cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF) would surge out of the brain. Then, when attention returned, the fluid would flow back in.

“If you don’t sleep, the CSF waves start to intrude into wakefulness where normally you wouldn’t see them,” Lewis said in a statement. “However, they come with an attentional tradeoff, where attention fails during the moments that you have this wave of fluid flow.”

A body-wide event

Each attention lapse was also accompanied by a whole cascade of bodily changes:

• Pupils constricted (starting about 12 seconds before the fluid wave)
• Heart rate dropped
• Breathing slowed
• Brain wave patterns shifted

Then, after the lapse, everything reversed: pupils dilated, heart rate increased, and breathing sped back up.

“It suggests that there’s a tight coordination of these systems, where when your attention fails, you might feel it perceptually and psychologically, but it’s also reflecting an event that’s happening throughout the brain and body,” Lewis explained.

Sleep’s housekeeping can’t wait

The overall theory:

• Your brain accumulates waste products throughout the day that need to be cleared out.
• Normally, this happens during sleep, when those rhythmic waves of cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF) wash through, removing toxins and restoring balance.
• But when you skip sleep, your brain becomes so desperate for this maintenance that it starts forcing these cleaning cycles during waking hours—even though it means your attention has to shut down temporarily.

“One way to think about those events is because your brain is so in need of sleep, it tries its best to enter into a sleep-like state to restore some cognitive functions,” said Zinong Yang, an MIT visiting graduate student and the lead author of the paper.

Your brain, taking charge

We like to think we’re in control—that willpower, caffeine, and determination can overcome a missed night of sleep. However, this research suggests otherwise.

When your brain needs to clean itself, it’s going to find a way to do it, whether you’re ready for it or not.

Thus, attention lapses aren’t a sign of weakness or lack of focus. They’re your brain literally hijacking your consciousness to perform essential maintenance.

So, the next time you’re sitting in that meeting, struggling to concentrate after a rough night, at least you’ll know what’s actually happening: Your brain is taking matters into its own hands, doing the housekeeping you denied it the night before.

The only real solution? Get enough sleep.

 

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.   

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How to Avoid Stress, According to Experts

Stress is an unfortunate fact of modern life and it can have long-term repercussions for our health. Even medical experts are not immune to stress, and their own experiences plus their health expertise leaves them best placed to advise us on how to deal with the problem. From doctors and psychologists, to health coaches and nutritionists, we have collected together medical professionals’ opinions on the best ways to manage stress levels. Their diverse backgrounds provide a variety of opinions, so you should be able to find a method that works for you! 

 

1: Take Time For Yourself 

Holistic health expert and vitality coach Jen Wittman recommends making time to reconnect with yourself. She puts aside four hours a week to write in her journal, read, and breathe deeply. She values this time and views it as her weekly 'reset' button. 

 

Nurse practitioner and co-founder of Women to Women Marcelle Pick suggests using this time to free yourself from all your activities and responsibilities, and consider your life. Some might enjoy attending a formal religious service while others can sit quietly in a peaceful place. Just ensure that you are not focused on a task and can fully relax. She refers to this as time as an “inside job”. 

 

Doctor David Jockers, a corrective care chiropractor, nutritionist, and exercise physiologist spends his alone time out in nature. Being in nature, whether the local park, beach or the mountains can help you feel more relaxed. If you take off your shoes and feel your feet against the Earth, it can help you heal. Similarly, he advocates finding a creative outlet to strengthen your spirit and captivate your heart. 

 

2: Declutter

Design & organization expert Dawn Falcone believes clutter of either your physical space or mental processes can add to your stress levels and detract from your ability to relax and breathe. She advises that you take some time to de-clutter, but don't try and do it all in one day, just start with a drawer or shelf. Falcone explains that if something has stopped making you feel good, it’s time to let it go. She also suggests getting rid of anything that hasn’t been used for the last 6 months. And as for mental clutter she recommends that you cross off any non-priority events on your calendar and delegate tasks where possible, while not being afraid to say 'no' to invitations. 

 

3: Take Supplements 

Many of the experts suggested taking supplements to help your body fight stress on a physiological level. Medical doctor, naturopathic doctor, herbalist, and nutritionist Carolyn Dean endorses taking magnesium, as food doesn’t always provide you with enough of this mineral. Magnesium helps your body make energy, digest food, detoxify heavy metals, relax muscles and nerves, and aids you in getting a good night of sleep. 

 

Digestive health expert and author of the Ultimate Candida Diet program Lisa Richard recommends a dose of good quality probiotics because recent studies have shown that it lowers your physiological response to stress. Naturopathic Doctor Kelly Austin recommends an injection combo of vitamin B12 and B5 as both are known to improve energy levels, mood, memory, focus and overall adrenal health. They also can help relieve nerve pain, burnout and anxiety. 

 

4: Turn to Others

Sue Johnson, psychologist, researcher and founder of Emotionally Focused Therapy advises not to go through stress and uncertainty alone. A loved one’s comfort and touch can encourage the nervous system to calm down. In her opinion confiding in someone you trust can turn-off fear and pain as communicating helps you make sense of your emotions and fears and enables you to receive support. She adds that evidence shows that simply holding someone’s hand can turn off the brain’s alarm response to stress. 

 

Awarding-winning author of 'How to be Sick' Toni Bernhard advocates a technique called Active Listening, where the person listening to you will reiterate how you’re feeling so that you feel heard. She explains that this technique makes you feel deeply cared for and alleviates stress. 

 

5: Proactive Stress Combat - Diet, Sleep and Exercise 

Many professionals encourage a proactive attitude to fighting stress. The ones mentioned repeatedly are diet, sleep, and exercise. Personal trainer and founder of 12 Minute Athlete Krista Stryker finds she de-stresses best with intense workouts. She maintains that the physical exhaustion enables you to clear your head of a day’s worries.

Diane Sanfilippo, certified holistic nutritionist and holistic lifestyle coach advocates avoiding toxic people or situations and strongly recommends prioritizing sleep and not overtraining. She explains that your body is better able to cope when you don’t purposefully expose it to stress-inducing people (or situations) and give it time to rest and restore. To balance intense workouts she embraces more gentle practices such as meditation, walking and yoga, as they lower cortisol levels. 

 

Functional diagnostic nutritionist, corporate holistic health educator, and personal trainer Keri Brooks adds that sex also does this and shouldn’t be ignored as a tool for helping calm stress. Brooks also suggests eating real food and avoiding foods that slow down your adrenal function, and lead to poor sleep and increased irritability such as sugar, fake fats, processed goods, and caffeine. Skipping meals and overeating, she warns, can affect your blood sugar levels and burn your adrenal levels. Like Sanfilippo, she also emphasizes the importance of sleep and recommends having a consistent routine for 'winding down'. 

 

 6: Distraction - Make the unpleasant pleasant 

 Some events and activities are unavoidably unpleasant, taxing and stressful, such as being stuck in traffic or doing the housework. Pharmacist and author of On the Topic of Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis Izabella Wentz recommends turning these stress inducing activities into something more enjoyable. She suggests listening to podcasts or talking to someone on the phone to keep the mind engaged and distracted from worry can reduce your stress levels. It also gives you a chance to connect with a friend or learn about a topic of interest. 

 

7: Pamper yourself with a massage

Founder of Replenish PDX and celebrated functional nutritionist Andrea Nakayama says you can address your adrenal health and reduce your stress with a gentle self-massage with essential oils. Make your hands into fists and rub the area of your back near your kidneys, just above your waist on the rear of your body. She explains that these moments of pampering promotes relaxation and strengthens an overtaxed system. 

 

 

8: Positive body language  

Janine Driver, NY Times best-selling author and president of the Body Language Institute, recommends three body movements to give your body a boost of confidence and drive away any unnecessary stress. 

 

Firstly, before meetings she recommends staying away from smartphones and tablets. Using these devices changes how you position your posture and this affects your demeanor. When you shrink yourself to see a screen this movement undermines your confidence levels and increases stress levels. You will feel more composed and assertive if you avoid the electronic devices prior to a potentially stressful event. 

 

Secondly, she recommends the use of 'power poses'. These are expansive body postures such as posing like Superman with hands on your hips, your hips out and your chest exaggerated. This raises testosterone but lowers cortisol levels, leading to a greater sense of well-being and increased confidence, both healthy ways to alleviate stress.

Thirdly, she suggests clapping and rubbing your hands together. This action sends a message to the brain that success is coming and gets it excited. This trick helps calm nerves and lower anxiety levels.

9: Laughter  

Stressful situations and high running emotions can make you argue with partners, co-workers, and friends, and the idea of simply letting go seems impossible in these heated moments. Instead of lashing out and arguing, corporate coaches, authors, and meditation experts Ed and Deb Shapiro recommend laughing. When you look for the funny side of things this reminds you to not take yourself too seriously and puts your ego in check. They explain that looking on the lighter side of life can help you refocus, remain objective and stay mindful. 

 

10: Chocolate

Doctor Jen Landa, hormone expert and author of The Sex Drive Solution for Women endorses eating chocolate. She elaborates that cocoa is one of the stronger sources of antioxidants, which protect people from unnoticed stressors such as pollutants and pesticides. Cocoa also contains high amounts of magnesium which, as mentioned in #3, has a calming influence. Landa explains that cocoa contains the same chemicals that your body produces when it falls in love, and these can reduce elevated stress levels. 

 

She does caution that the results are best seen when we eat chocolate with 70%-100% cocoa content and low amounts of added sugar so that you won’t send your blood sugar levels spiraling, or gain too much weight.

11: Perspective  

Another concept experts recommend for fighting stress are habits which keep your sense of perspective in check. Dr. Alan Christianson, an author of two books on thyroid disease, makes it an evening ritual to recall three positive things about his day and to think of three positive aspects for the next day. 

 

Naturopathic doctor, and author of MAXIMized Health Andrea Maxim shares the best advice she received about stress: if you can see that you won’t be stressing about whatever’s presently stressing you out in a year’s time, it’s not worth stressing about it now.

Author, speaker, and founder of Flatiron Functional Medicine Doctor Jill Carnahan encourages you to have “an attitude of gratitude”. She recommends keeping a gratitude journal, which can be looked upon in times of stress or anxiety. The practice of looking for the positive gives your mind a boost and can help produce endorphins. This can lower stress levels and encourage other healthy emotions like joy, contentment, and hope. 12. Self-compassion Kinesiologist and creator of the www.healmyadrenalfatigue.com E-course, Kerry Belviso, recommends positive self-talk as a tool that can go a long way in times when you feel overwhelmed and stressed. Negative voices and thoughts can make you feel more disempowered and depleted. When you spend time judging and criticizing yourself, you are less resourceful. Instead, give yourself a break and think of advice you would give a close friend if they were in your situation. Supporting yourself and giving yourself compassion is a practice for relieving stress that many people forget to embrace. 

 

13. Breathing 

It sounds much too simple, but the way you breathe can help fight stress and affect your state of mind. Christa Orecchio, a clinical nutritionist, holistic health counselor, and founder of The Whole Journey explains that slow, deep breathing can help alkalize the body and activate the parasympathetic nervous system. This allows the body to recuperate and regenerate. She warns that as people age, they tend to breathe shorter and shallower breaths, more from the chest. Deanine Picciano, a doctor of oriental medicine, and acupuncture physician specializing in women & children’s health, recommends belly breathing, as this can lower cortisol levels. It lets more oxygen enter your lungs, allowing you to stay focused and centered. 

 

When you’re tense, you’re more likely to tighten your diaphragm muscles. Release and loosen these to achieve full, optimal breathing. She recommends that you start slowly in the lower belly, and then move upward towards the heart. Your breath should fill the bottom of your belly first and move up to the chest. This technique can counter the physical effects of stress. What's more, these exercises can be done anywhere, at any time.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.   

https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com. one can see my crochet creations  
https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes    
https://kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com. for info on knee replacement
https://GSiyers home remedies.blogspot.com   is the latest addition to my blogs

5 Daily Exercises To Improve Muscular Endurance as You Age

As you get older, it's natural to experience creaky joints, stiff muscles, and aches and pains. However, neglecting to maintain muscular endurance—your muscles' ability to perform repeated contractions against a resistance for an extended period—could spell trouble for your golden years. Fortunately, muscular endurance exercises can help fix bad posture, improve stability, enhance your muscles' aerobic capacity, and maintain your ability to carry out daily activities, according to ACE Fitness. That's why we're here to help you out with five of the best exercises to improve muscular endurance as you age.

Note: Don't confuse muscular endurance (or stamina) with muscular strength. Muscular endurance allows you to do physical activities for longer periods, while muscular strength is your ability to lift or move heavy objects. Essentially, the more stamina your muscles have, the more reps you can do. Research shows that moderate-load muscular endurance strength training is an effective strategy for combating the age-associated loss of strength and muscle mass. Also, engaging your muscles through regular exercise is essential for maintaining their functional capacity as you age. Good-functioning muscles can improve your balance and skeletal structure, reducing your risk of falls and injury, according to the National Institute on Aging.

If you're concerned you've missed the boat on this, we have good news: It's never too late to improve your muscular endurance. To help get you started, we chatted with Margie Young, CPT, a Life Time Champions ARORA certified personal trainer, who shares her top five exercises to improve muscular endurance and stamina as you age.

1. Hip Hinge

An excellent movement for boosting muscular endurance is the hip hinge, where you shift your weight to your heels and push your hips back against a wall while hinging forward at the hips. (You can also perform this exercise with suspension straps.)

"With the hip hinge, you're not bending forward; you're hinging at the hip," Young explains. "Start by standing a few inches in front of (but not touching) a wall. Next, keep your feet parallel and under your hips, your core tight, and simply touch your butt to the wall while bending forward. Then, squeeze your glutes to stand back up."

The hip hinge will increase your range of motion (ROM) and allow you to perform daily activities with ease. So, next time you bend over to pick up the laundry basket, use the hip hinge form to save your lower back.

2. Body-weight Squats

A straightforward exercise that can be done anytime, anywhere is the body-weight squat. To perform these, Young explains, "Sit down and stand up back up, remembering to push through your heels. Multiple sets and repetitions of bodyweight squats help maintain muscle balance and improve functional movement." Perfecting bodyweight squats will come in handy the next time you're squatting down to pick up the kids' toys for the seventh time in a day.

3. Planks

Another great exercise for muscular endurance is the plank. This static hold has several variations that strengthen your core, improve your posture, reduce back pain, and boost coordination. "Plank holds aren't just great for the core, they're great for the entire body and anyone can do them," says Young. "Plank variations include going from a wall to a countertop, the bed or couch, and even the floor. Add intensity by alternating glute-activated leg lift holds while planking."

4. Step-ups

Maintaining control and balance while in motion is essential for increasing muscular endurance as you age. Step-ups are an excellent way to help keep your lower body's strength and balance since your body weight shifts continuously from one leg to the other while in motion.

"Step-ups are a safer alternative to walking lunges that you can do anywhere there's a secure, elevated surface," states Young. "To protect your knees from over flexion, anchor and push through your heels. Add variations by increasing the height of your step-ups or doing single-leg holds to improve your balance."

5. Breathing

You read that right—good old breathing can enhance your muscular endurance! Young tells us, "Breathing is an exercise that requires muscles, and most of us do it incorrectly. Your diaphragm is a muscle responsible for 75 percent of respiration. You'll naturally create a vacuum effect for the next inhale while activating abdominal muscles by focusing more on exhaling through your body." In addition, breathing can enhance focus while oxygenating your blood, helping to reduce stress and induce a calming effect—something we all need more of in our daily lives.

 

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.   

https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com. one can see my crochet creations  
https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes    
https://kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com. for info on knee replacement

https://GSiyers home remedies.blogspot.com     is my latest addition to my blogs. I'm going to add posts there, do give me your valuable feed back on my blogs. Thanks a lot, take care, be healthy and be happy.