How Are Memory and Sleep Connected?

Sleep can impact an individual’s health and wellness in a myriad of ways, among these are memory and cognitive ability, which can be affected positively with a good night’s sleep and negatively with an inadequate amount of sleep or poor quality of sleep.

While an individual is asleep, the brain continues to work, processing information from the day as the body rests. Sleeping can help consolidate this new information into memories. Adequate rest is essential to processing this new information.

The processing of memories and the development of memories occur during both the non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and the rapid eye movement (REM) stages of the sleep cycle. During the NREM stages, the brain sorts through the memories from the previous day, retaining important information as the deeper process of REM begins. Selected memories begin to become more ingrained.

This continues to occur during the REM sleep stages, which also process emotional memories. When the brain lacks sufficient time to create new pathways for the information recently learned, individuals may have difficulties creating and storing memories.

The amount of sleep an individual requires to retain memory varies according to their age and several other health factors. Children may be more prone to stronger memory consolidation following a good night’s sleep than adults.

It is also important that individuals are cognizant not to oversleep, as this can have negative consequences for health and wellness as well as memory retention. It’s typically recommended that adults sleep for seven hours a day or more, teens may require eight to ten hours, children between nine and twelve, toddlers eleven to fourteen, and infants twelve to sixteen.

Sleep quality has also been shown to potentially decrease with age. This can involve less slow-wave sleep during a regular sleep cycle and more difficulty processing memories as a result, particularly for older individuals.

Various potential causes can lead to an individual being unaware of whether they slept last night. It could be the result of a sleep-related condition such as insomnia or mental health or mood issues.

Sometimes individuals can feel as though they lay awake at night, not feeling like they got any sleep but actually sleeping for hours at a time. Individuals may be hyper-aware of arousal and their perception of how long they slept can be thrown out of balance. This can be particularly common among individuals who are stressed or worried before they go to bed, leading them to misjudge the soundness of their sleep.

Chronic stress, depression, and anxiety can lead to behaviors such as constantly thinking about or struggling with stress before bed, which can trigger misperceptions about an individual’s sleep state. These could be signs of sleep state misperception or symptoms of other sleep-related conditions.

Individuals unsure of whether they slept should seek experts guidance by consulting with providers at the Koala® Center For Sleep & TMJ Disorders for a comprehensive examination and diagnosis.

Lack of sleep can lead to a wide range of health problems and can also be related to the onset or exacerbation of dementia. In many cases, a lack of sleep and dementia can both influence one another.

When an individual fails to get adequate sleep, parts of their brain can change, which can be related to the onset of dementia. Lack of sleep can disrupt slow-wave sleep, which plays an important role in memory retention and learning.

The risks of inadequate sleep and poor-quality sleep associated with the onset or worsening of dementia can be particularly pronounced when it is a chronic concern. Individuals who do not get enough sleep, particularly those who sleep less than four hours, are more likely to struggle with memory abilities, learning, and thinking.

Poor quality of sleep can have adverse effects on all aspects of an individual’s health and wellness. They needn’t wait until that leads to the onset of serious health concerns. Instead, it’s advisable to consult with professionals such as those at the Koala® Center For Sleep & TMJ Disorders.

Sleep services are available at the Koala® Center For Sleep & TMJ Disorders. Visit us online now to learn more about our services and for directions to our locations! We also encourage everyone to visit us online to meet our team and to sign up for our special offers!