You know that not getting enough sleep at night can lead to grouchy mornings. But did you know that sleep does more than affect your mood? It turns out that sleep actually has a serious effect on your brain. In fact, researchers have revealed that of all the things that you can do for the health of your brain, sleep is one of the most important.

What happens to your brain when you sleep? Keep on reading to find out!

Your Memories are Solidified

One of the most important things that happens to your brain while you sleep is the consolidation of long-term memories. Your brain makes dozens of connections throughout the day.  Some of them are worth keeping and some of them aren’t. During sleep, the brain works to streamline the connections that it needs to keep.  It also gets rid of the ones that it doesn’t. Moreover, it strengthens the connections that it makes.

Toxins are Cleaned Out

When you sleep, toxins that affect your brain are cleared out at a much more rapid pace when you are sleeping compared to when you are awake.

Recent research has found that the space between the cells of the brain actually expands while you sleep and it expands dramatically. This expansion helps to facilitate the “clearing out” of toxic elements that accumulate in the brain via cerebrospinal fluid. What’s more, a large portion of the toxins that your brain clears out while you’re sleeping are proteins that have been found to lead to Alzheimer’s disease.

Cognition is Improved

You don’t need evidence from a study to know that sleep deprivation affects your cognitive abilities.  However, there are several studies that support how sleep impacts your cognition.

A lack of sleep can impact everything from attention span to your ability to make decisions and your reaction time. In other words, getting an adequate amount of sleep will help to improve your cognitive abilities.  Allowing you to make quicker and better decisions and recall information much faster.

It Boosts Creativity

Sleep has been found to encourage creativity – and lack of sleep removes it. When you’re sleep deprived, specific types of thoughts are affected, including what is known as divergent thinking, or thinking in a new, imaginative, and creative way. One study found that people who were sleep deprived were less likely to have original, creative thoughts than people who had adequate amounts of sleep.

It Reduces Depression

Depression is a clinical problem that affects many, many people. As turns out, sleep and depression have a strong connection. People who suffer from depression often experience sleep difficulties.  They may have a hard time falling asleep or they may sleep a lot. It’s been determined that while a lack of sleep may not be the cause of depression.  However it can definitely make it worse. Studies have found that people who get an adequate amount of sleep are less likely to experience depression than those who are sleep deprived. Moreover, those who suffer from insomnia are much more likely to experience depression and anxiety.

Better Sleep for a Healthier Brain

Given all the information stated above, there’s no doubt that you are going to want to do your best to improve your sleep. But how can you do that? Investing in a high quality sleep mask – like the Manta Sleep Mask – can certainly help. This sleep mask blocks out 100% of light, is completely adjustable so you can get the perfect fit, is exceptionally comfortable, and won’t slip off your eyes while you’re sleeping.

If you want to improve your sleep and the health and function of your brain, you should seriously consider investing in the Manta Sleep Mask.