Sleep is a basic human need and has a huge impact on health, mental state and brain capabilities: the ability to memorize new information, solve problems, regulate your own behavior, etc. What else is healthy sleep useful for?
Cleaning time
In dreams, the brain does general cleaning: it puts ideas into place, arranges information received during the day, and organizes everything into a system. It also “throws away” unnecessary garbage and strengthens the neural connections responsible for useful knowledge.
The brain sits at the desk instead of us
While we sleep, the brain does not stop analyzing unsolved tasks and looking for ways to overcome difficulties. He's also trying to understand the complex stuff we've been studying during the day.
The brain works as a psychologist
When we sleep, the brain analyzes the negative experiences we had during the day and reduces the emotional stress caused by the event. If you often have the same dream, it means that the experience you actually experienced has become traumatic, and your brain needs a little more time to “release” the emotional load from these memories.
Night meeting
In sleep, our consciousness turns off, so the prefrontal cortex, which acts as the “boss” during the day, no longer prevents other parts of the brain from “talking” and finding an effective solution to the problem.
Why we don't sleep well
Unfortunately, with the development of technology in today's digital world, our sleep is suffering more and more often. We can't stop ourselves from an interesting game or movie, or we stay online late at night.
How much sleep do children need
Scientists believe that children need 8-9 hours of sleep a night, and teenagers need at least 9 and a half hours.
How to improve sleep: useful tips
- The room
It is best to sleep in a cool and dark place.
By the way, if you sleep in a sleep mask, you should cool the room a little more - there is a chance that you will wake up because you will feel hot.
- Don't forget about the blanket
Choose the blanket that best suits your child. He should like it and be comfortable in size and weight. Your favorite blanket will create a feeling of comfort, relaxation, safety and a “warm hug”.
- Breathing
Breathing is rightly considered a “bridge” between the conscious and the subconscious. Stanford University scientists conducted a study involving about a thousand third and fifth graders from San Francisco. They were divided into groups: with the first group they practiced conscious breathing in class, and the second group exercised. As a result, after three months, children in the first group slept an average of 74 minutes more than those in the second group.
There are many simple breathing techniques that can help you fall asleep. For example, the children in the study imagined that their hand was a starfish rising on inhalation and practiced “ocean breathing” (breathing in through the nose, exhaling through the mouth).
The famous American neuroscientist Andrew Guberman suggests taking a double breath through the nose, followed by a long exhalation. This exercise instantly calms the brain and gives a sense of security.
- Don't study late
It will be more difficult for your brain to relax if you load it with new information before going to bed.
If your child has a habit of taking textbooks or gadgets to bed, try to break free from it. Let the student study only at his desk in a strictly designated place for study. This will give a clear signal to the brain that you need to sleep in bed.
- Do not eat heavy meals before going to bed
If the child is hungry, it is better to limit yourself to a small snack.
- Daytime sleep
Scientists believe that a nap between 14:00 and 16:00 helps to quickly “overload” the brain and prepare it for new information that it may receive in the afternoon. It's important to experiment and find out the exact time it takes for you or your child to rest. Everyone knows that an excess of daytime sleep can adversely affect evening sleep.
- An imaginary diary of events
Encourage your child to fantasize a little before going to bed. Let him imagine the events that happened to him during the day and mentally write them down in an imaginary diary. Tell your child that you can add any pictures, stickers, or even short videos to the pages. You can paint the background in different colors: if the event was sad, make it blue, and fill the joyful moments with bright yellow or orange paint. When all the events of the day are on the pages of the diary, you can mentally close it and put it in the drawer.
This exercise will help the child relieve the emotional burden of the past day and sleep peacefully. First, you can do it together, and then, when the child gets used to it and gets older, he will cope on his own.
- A magical place
After the child has finished keeping an imaginary diary, it is possible to imagine a place where he would like to be in a dream. Let it be a real place or a fictional country where anything is possible. Let your child's imagination decide where he wants to go: travel on a cloud, swim in a rainbow lake, or lie on the grass hugging his favorite unicorn.
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