Sleep is essential to our health and wellbeing. At night, whilst sleeping our brains cleanse themselves, it is called glymphatic cleaning. It’s a lot like a cleaner in an office putting the rubbish in the bin, vacuuming the carpet and preparing for the day ahead….imagine your brain is an office; which memories do I retain, what did I learn and need to hold on to, what can I throw away, what emotions do I need to quieten to feel less anxious.
There are 4 sleep stages:
Stage 1) Initial Sleep…..we fall asleep but can be easily awoken. The body hasn’t fully relaxed and switched off.
Stage 2) More subdued state, heart rate drops, muscle relax, breathing slows down. We spend about half of our sleep in this state.
Stage 3) Deep Sleep. This is the restorative phase where we repair and regenerate. It improves memory function, creativity and our ability to function properly.
Stage 4) REM Sleep. It stands for Rapid Eye Movement. This is when we dream! This phase is believed to be essential to cognitive function, learning, memory and creativity. REM sleep is the only time the brain is free from the brain chemistry that leads to anxiety.
Also, during REM sleep the brain makes sense of memories and emotions that are with us. It can help to remove strong emotional responses and allow our brains to process what is happening in our lives, a form of nighttime problem solving that allows us to wake up feeling refreshed and less anxious about the day ahead. Dreaming is a form of emotional processing that can help to calm anxiety.
For many people, achieving good deep sleep and REM sleep is difficult. thinAir creates the internal conditions for good sleep. It flushes out brain inflammation, it helps regulate hormone chemistry and the improved blood circulation enables oxygen & nutrient rich blood to be delivered to the brain. It helps to restore balance and allows us to sleep, deeply and this is restorative.
