A Brainy Routine

It should be obvious from the research on yoga and dancing that as wonderful as these activities are for body and mind, they are not silver bullets, and their influence lies in our ability to do them consistently and harness the power of neuroplasticity and our adaptive brains. It’s not a one-off action that makes or breaks the resilience and strength of our brains, but actions over time, i.e. habits, routines, and conscious thought that become unconscious action.

Yoga done weekly, for years, naturally has a cumulative and more substantial effect than merely dabbling here and there. So does any type of aerobic exercise, we’ve learned.

Making a conscious effort to make your health a priority is what counts—and this is a commitment that can be renewed in every moment of every day, consistently.

Good habits and routines are nothing more than what we all know as common sense— the trick is to actually do them! Our health—mental, physical or emotional—is built on the aggregate of dozens of tiny habits that all may seem insignificant on their own. In the same way, dozens of smaller, poor choices made over and over again soon crystallize into poor health that then takes a lot more effort to shift once in place.

If you maintain yourself mostly within healthy parameters for most of the time, it then becomes almost second nature to stay there. It might take a lot of effort to shift old patterns once they’ve ingrained themselves, but if you can make regular commitments on a small scale, you never put yourself in the position of having to take drastic action to get on the right path again.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that good sleep, exercise and proper nutrition will all make it significantly easier to maintain your brain in the peak state it needs to be to optimally process the world around you. There are now dozens of different supplements available to boost brain health, and we’re all aware of the different foods that are meant to “feed your brain.” One aspect that even health- conscious people tend to forget, however, is perhaps the most important one: proper rest and sleep. It’s the first cornerstone of a set of daily routines and habits to keep you at your peak mental performance.

Hello, Mr. Sandman

It seems both obvious and an understatement, and yet, we don’t treat sleep with the respect and reverence it deserves.

It’s no exaggeration to say that our world is rushed. We favor action, results, ego-driven goals and the relentless pursuit of them, whether our bodies can keep up or not.

With so much talk of boosting productivity, of “hustle” culture, of no pain and no gain, one could understandably think we all want to turn ourselves into robots that work 24/7 and never indulge in something so unproductive as... taking naps.

The bitter irony is that, as so many burnt- out businesspeople inevitably learn, rest does not distract or take away from our active success, but is integral to it. Those who can’t rest are often forced to slow down when their bodies simply pack it in.

Without mentioning all the physical harm it does to run the body ragged and ignore signals to relax and recoup, it’s also obvious that sleeping poorly is terrible for our mental and intellectual health. In our culture, rest and sleep are seen as weaknesses instead of rightfully considered as an integral part of the hustle process.

Somehow it seems more difficult to connect because the brain only sends subtle signals of mental exhaustion, such as reading the same paragraph over and over, in lieu of a muscle cramp in your calf.

Sleep is not optional. It’s a biological need as paramount as air, water and food.

annot function without it. In: 2013

ke Alzheimer’s, as found in: 2018

Other than using the sleep state to consolidate learning, the brain also needs to rest deeply so that it can properly dispose of wastes accumulated throughout the day.

These “housekeeping” activities are performed while you sleep, and account for that refreshed feeling you get when you wake up after a really good rest. The glymphatic system is a network of vessels that drain cerebrospinal fluid from the brain, along with the brain’s metabolic waste. The system works best at night; when you don’t sleep, you don’t give your brain the chance to tidy up.

All those misshapen proteins that would otherwise form plaques in the brain? These are regularly cleared away by the glymphatic system. As we age, the accumulation of these wonky proteins increases, possibly leading to neurodegenerative diseases. It’s not a metaphor to say that those with Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s Disease have tangled brains—these misshapen proteins act as literal knots that clump around the neurons and impair their function, hence a range of symptoms like memory loss, motor defects and even mood disruptions.

When you sleep poorly, what would have been cleared away by the glymphatic system is left to accumulate in the brain, eventually reaching toxic levels if sleep deprivation is chronic. Worse still is that simply being in a sleep-deprived state can in turn make it more difficult to sleep. Bad sleep habits tend to breed more bad sleep habits, setting up a vicious circle that’s harder and harder to escape from.

These effects can be noted even with a single night’s poor sleep. This is normal and happens to us all, and there is nothing to worry about if you soon catch up, giving your body the chance to re-balance itself.

But consistently poor-quality sleep can impact your cognitive performance, your mood, and even your immune system in ways that may not be all that reversible.

A: 2009

Ehsan Shokri-Kojori of the National Institutes of Health and his colleagues found that one night of bad sleep increased protein aggregation in the brain by around 5 percent in the right hippocampus and thalamus. Such an accumulation may lead to a grumpy mood the next day, but will in all likelihood be cleared away the next night—if you sleep well, that is.

Can we ever clear ourselves completely of this sleep debt that appears to have such negative consequences? It can take weeks to months, and sleep expert Elena Winnel suggests that we can only really catch up on about twenty hours of debt, so if we continue to sacrifice sleep, we put our brains in a semi-permanently compromised state.

Oh, and sleep debt also reduces insulin sensitivity, which leads to fat retention, weight gain, poor blood sugar regulation, and the increased risk of diabetes and obesity.

What used to be a relatively unexplored area in medicine is now being more fully appreciated as an integral part of health and wellness. There’s no getting around it: sleep is a pillar of a healthy life, not just for the brain but the entire body. Improving sleep is not just about reducing your risk of serious disease, but about making sure you’re giving yourself the best chance to succeed, every day. A good mood, a brain that works and a sufficient level of energy are the bare minimum to keep doing your best in any endeavor.

So, forget productivity apps or weird tips and tricks designed to squeeze more out of your brain. You can support yourself best by simply pulling back when you’re tired and giving your brain the time it needs to recuperate. Sacrifice some sneaky and subtle tactics for an additional hour of sleep, and you’ll perform far better.

Practice good sleep hygiene with the same care as you would give your diet or exercise regime. This means regular times to sleep and wake, getting at least eight hours quality sleep, and making sure your room is free of distracting sounds and lights as you’re sleeping or preparing for bed. Invest in a good mattress, comfortable bedding and breathable pajamas.

Make sure that every day, without fail, you give yourself a few minutes every evening for a bedtime ritual so you can wind down and allow your brain to relax from a busy day. Meditation, yoga, a warm bath, gentle reading, doodling (more on this later), quiet music or relaxed conversation will all help you slow down so you can get the best out of your night’s sleep.

One final component of great sleep hygiene is to regularly take naps. In our work- obsessed culture, you may feel a little guilty for taking an hour-long nap during the day, since you feel you’d be “wasting time.” But it may help to reframe daytime napping as intelligent self-care, as a regular health practice or even, on some days in particular, an emergency measure! Have you ever found yourself in a truly atrocious mood, only to cheer up after a good long nap? There was likely nothing better you could have done for your mood than simply step back and disengage for a moment.

Think about the culture surrounding the midday “siesta” (Spanish for sleep) in many cultures, including Spanish, Italian, and even some Asian countries. People of these cultures noticed that relaxing, with or without sleep, tended to help productivity and increase happiness of workers, at the very least.

and colleagues found in their: 2016

However, this comes with an important caveat: try to ensure that your naps are not interfering with your nighttime sleep routine. Do this by napping for moderate amounts of time only, and avoid napping too early or too late in the day—after lunch is ideal. Find a cool, dark room, close your eyes and empty your mind. Noises or distractions could only wind up having the opposite effect than you’re looking for, so set aside your phone and put anxieties to the side for a while—you can always return to them in an hour. If you find that you’re having difficulty falling asleep every night, try shortening your daytime naps or taking one only every other day. You might also find it useful to nap at different times in the day—avoid scheduling a nap too soon after waking in the morning or too close to bedtime.

Take the opportunity during naptime to not just sleep, but indulge in a little window of relaxation and escape during the day. Far from being lazy, this allows you to gather your thoughts, process emotions, calm down physiologically as well as mentally, and enjoy some alone time. You don’t need a lot of time for it to feel like a luxurious treat and a moment of self-care rolled all in one. Do a little breathing exercise, spend some time meditating or visualizing, or simply contemplate the sounds of birds or cars outside. Relax your muscles and breathe. Life and all its bustle and noise will be ready for you when you wake up again, but your brain will be in a much better state to tackle it all.