Three Benefits of Deep Sleep for your Brain

What if you could make your sleep more efficient? 

As a sleep scientist, this is the question that has captivated me for the past 10 years. Because while the lightbulb and technology have brought about a world of 24-hour work and productivity, it has come at the cost of our naturally occurring circadian rhythm and our body's need for sleep." 

Dan Gartenberg The Brain Benefits of Deep Sleep  TED Residency June 2017

Dan goes on to explain that collectively we are getting less sleep than ever before in history and we wear it as a badge of honour! Poor sleep has been linked to Alzheimer's, cardiovascular disease, stroke and diabetes and can affect our ability to make sound decisions and our capacity for empathy.

Deep sleep is observed as long burst waves that are different from waking brain lives.

These are called delta waves. When we don't achieve this state it inhibits our ability to learn and for our cells to recover. As we get older we are more likely to lose this regenerative state. Dan refers to deep sleep and delta waves as 'markers for biological youth' .

Dr. Dmitry Gerashchenko from Harvard Medical School explains that if you could listen to certain sounds you could actually make sleep deeper. Their collective research found that your brain has sound patterns and simulating this primed the mind to have more of these regenerative waves. Its like your brain mimics and amplifies the effect of deep sleep waves.

Graphing the correlation between the playing of the sound waves and deep sleep brain activity shows that there is an associated effect of regenerative brain wave activity.

Adding music to your sleep rituals may just be the edge you need to attain a better sleep. So which sounds affect our brain the most?

Research by Dan Gartenberg and Dr. Dmitry Gerashchenko found particular white noise and specific sound patterns assisted the brains ability to develop stronger deep sleep timeframes.

At The Sleep Boss we researched some of the apps that include sleep music in their offerings.

Our research led us to a couple of options but the standout, Insight Timer, has such a large range of options to aid deep sleep. Here's one from Insight Timer for you to try

Another place to find sleep music designed to support deeper sleep state is over at YouTube with our friends over at Serene Relaxing Music. 

Synchronised brain waves have long been associated with meditative states, and sound embedded with binaural beats has been proven induce and improve such states. 

Science has proven that when you create a frequency or rhythm that falls within one of these brainwave states, your brain will entrain to that frequency within one minute.

Here are three of the key benefits of using music to attain better sleep;

• Reduce Anxiety
• Increased Focus
• Cell regeneration and memory

So on your path to better sleep, give sleep music a go. You'll support your sleep wellness and may just build new cells and connections in your brain at the same time.

Sleep Deep, Sleep Well.