Brain Training to Minimize Sleep Requirements?
In recent years, the idea of training oneself to need less sleep has gained traction. However, new research suggests that this notion may not be as beneficial as once thought.
Training oneself to require less sleep long-term generally results in chronic sleep deprivation, a state that impairs cognitive performance, memory, focus, and decision-making rather than improving them.
Chronic sleep reduction leads to several neurobehavioral deficits. These include decreased attention and vigilance, making sustained focus harder and increasing errors and slower reaction times. Impaired executive functions, such as planning, judgment, and impulse control, result in riskier decisions and poorer problem-solving abilities. Memory deficits, particularly in the consolidation of emotional and declarative memory, are also common. Reduced cognitive flexibility, with a tendency toward rigid thinking and less adaptability in changing situations, is another consequence.
Over time, these deficits accumulate, leading to a cumulative cognitive decline, similar to the effects seen after several consecutive nights without any sleep. This decline includes lapses in alertness and working memory. Mood and emotional regulation problems further impair decision-making and focus.
Long-term habitual sleep restriction, such as sleeping 4 to 6 hours versus the recommended 7-9 hours, causes neurobehavioral deficits similar to the effects seen after several consecutive nights without any sleep. The biological basis involves decreased brain oxygen supply, impaired brain blood flow regulation, and changes in hormones and gene expression.
It is essential to note that these effects are not limited to how one thinks but also extend to how one learns and retains information. Consistent short sleep leads to slower processing speed and reduced reaction time. Decreased creative thinking and insight generation are also effects of short sleep.
Moreover, there is no evidence that typical sleepers can rewire their brains through practice or lifestyle to need significantly less sleep long-term. The concept of polyphasic sleep, which involves breaking sleep into multiple shorter periods throughout the day, is not supported by evidence for most people as a means to function effectively with reduced sleep.
Strategies for improving sleep quality, such as maintaining consistent sleep/wake times, limiting blue light exposure before bed, keeping the bedroom cool, dark, and quiet, reducing caffeine and alcohol intake in the evening, and winding down with light stretching, reading, or journaling to promote sleep onset, may be more beneficial than attempting to reduce sleep quantity.
In conclusion, attempts to "train" the body to need less sleep typically result in progressive cognitive deterioration, not cognitive enhancement. Adequate sleep is essential for maintaining optimal brain function and preventing long-term cognitive impairment or increased risk of dementia.
- Chronic sleep deprivation, due to training oneself to require less sleep, impairs cognitive performance, memory, focus, and decision-making.
- Reduced sleep leads to several neurobehavioral deficits, such as decreased attention, increased errors, slower reaction times, impaired executive functions, and memory deficits.
- Mood and emotional regulation problems, resulting from inadequate sleep, further impair decision-making and focus.
- Over time, these deficits lead to a cumulative cognitive decline, similar to the effects seen after several consecutive sleepless nights.
- There is no evidence that the brain can be rewired to need significantly less sleep long-term through practice or lifestyle adjustments.
- Strategies for improving sleep quality, such as maintaining consistent sleep/wake times, reducing blue light exposure, and promoting sleep onset, may be more beneficial than attempting to reduce sleep quantity.
- Adequate sleep is vital for maintaining optimal brain function, preventing long-term cognitive impairment, and reducing the risk of dementia.
