Sleep On It!

by Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger

24 Sep 2007 08:04 PM

How many times do I need to repeat this? Sleep is good for you. Apparently I have to repeat it a lot... a recent survey by Prevention magazine found that more than 50% of all busy women (that includes stay at home moms, ladies with full time jobs, business owners, and more) make sleep the first thing to go when the pressure is on.

But sleep is good for you! Really!

A study from Harvard Medical School is demonstrating (once again) that a good night's sleep can make your brain function better. Folks who volunteered for the study were divided into three groups. One group was given a brain teaser and asked to solve it right away. Another group was given a brain teaser and asked to work on it a few hours later. The third group was asked to do the brain teaser after a full night's sleep.

Can you guess which group did the best? The folks who had a good night's sleep were much more likely to solve the brain teaser than the other groups.

Don't believe me? You can test it out for yourself. Grab a sudoku puzzle or a crossword puzzle. Try it later in the day, after your brain has been running at full steam. Try it again (or try a fresh puzzle with a similar difficulty level) after a good night's sleep. You might just find your brain is working better for the rest.

And the researchers believe that the same will hold true for real life problems -- not just brain teasers. Sleep can help your brain knit ideas together. You may go to bed with a problem and wake up the next morning with a solution.

If your real life puzzles are keeping you from sleeping, try writing everything down before you turn in. It might help take the thoughts that are bouncing around your head and give them a place to park for the night.

Learn more about Aimee Amodio

Aimee is a fiction writer... dog lover... music lover...

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