Sleep is an interesting thing. On one hand, we recognize it as a natural and essential part of life; on the other hand, we often resist the body’s urge to rest and end up setting ourselves up for poor sleep. Many of us may not fully understand why we need sleep or what happens inside our bodies on a deeper physiological level when we drift off. Yet important processes take place during sleep—processes that restore, repair, and regulate our systems. Understanding these can motivate us to prioritize better sleep and improve its quality.
Memory
Advances in neuroscience show that sleep plays a crucial role in shaping memory. Psychiatrist Norman Doidge notes, “Scores of studies show that sleep affects plastic change by allowing us to consolidate learning and memory.” Dreaming—particularly during REM (rapid-eye-movement) sleep—contributes significantly to this consolidation. Doidge explains that “REM sleep has also been shown to be particularly important for enhancing our ability to retain emotional memories and for allowing the hippocampus to turn short-term memories of the day before into long-term ones.” When someone consistently experiences poor sleep, or not enough of it, these processes are disrupted, which may help explain ongoing memory lapses.
Neuroplasticity
Neuroplasticity is a fascinating concept that refers to the brain’s ability to change its structure and function over time. Because the brain is pliable, it can be shaped in both healthy and unhealthy ways. For example, research suggests that repeated exposure to pornography can strengthen certain neural pathways, reinforcing habitual patterns that make the behavior harder to disengage from. At the same time, those very pathways are not fixed; they can be altered, weakened, or reshaped. Sleep plays an important role in this process. As mentioned earlier, Doidge notes that “sleep affects plastic change,” highlighting how the brain uses rest to reorganize and repair itself.
Physical Wellbeing
Studies show that sleep plays a crucial role in supporting the immune system, maintaining cardiovascular health, and repairing damaged tissue. Neurologist David Perlmutter underscores this connection, noting that “both laboratory and clinical studies have shown that virtually every system in the body is affected by the quality and amount of sleep we get, especially the brain.”3 Because sleep influences so many physiological systems, researchers have found that insufficient or poor-quality rest can disrupt inflammation, weaken immunity, alter metabolism, strain the cardiovascular system, and more.
Sleep Hygiene
In His wisdom, the Lord did not design humans to spend a significant portion of each day sleeping without purpose. Far from it—countless physiological systems are shaped by whether we get too little sleep or a healthy amount. As we better understand how deeply sleep affects the body, the importance of developing good sleep hygiene becomes increasingly clear. For practical strategies, you can explore a helpful blog post by Dr. Jessica Pae. And if you’d like to talk with a counselor, our team at Restoration Psychology would be glad to support you. Contact us today!