Sleep Hack Boosts Memory and Alertness
By
Dr. Richard Gerhauser, M.D.
Posted March 13, 2023
Sometimes you wake up from a deep sleep feeling groggy—even after a full night’s rest.
Have you ever wondered why that is?
No matter how many hours you’re in bed, you might not be getting the quality sleep needed to feel alert.
And that doesn’t just leave you feeling like you’ve been hit by a bus in the morning. It can have a negative impact on your memory or ability to learn.
Fortunately, THIS simple sleep hack can improve your alertness AND cognitive function the next day.
There are a lot of factors that go into a good night’s rest. Today I’m just going to focus on one of them:
DARKNESS.
Being asleep is NOT enough to gain all of the benefits of sleep.
Research has shown that even being exposed to a small amount of room light BEFORE bed can decrease the DURATION of melatonin by as much as 90 percent—and can SUPPRESS levels by about 50 percent.
Even after you’re asleep, if your brain detects just a small amount of light it can suppress melatonin.
This kind of ambient light could come from street lights, the TV, or light from your electronic devices.
Darkness is also necessary for keeping levels of cortisol low, which helps calm your brain at night.
So what is the sleep hack?
According to a new study, it’s wearing an eye mask to remove all light stimulation.
For the study, 89 patients wore an eye mask for two days and then did two days of testing.
During the control week they spent five nights sleeping without an eye mask, followed by two more days of testing.
The participants did BETTER after 5 nights of wearing a mask on:
- Learning performance
- Behavioral alertness
- Sustained attention
Ultimately, these results mean that sleeping in total darkness leads to better episodic memory encoding and alertness. In other words, your memory is better and you feel more awake.
A similar follow-up study produced nearly identical results. So we know these findings are solid.
EEGs revealed that wearing a mask led to longer slow-wave sleep time, which is likely responsible for the improvements in memory.
That’s because slow-wave sleep restores your brain’s ability to encode new information.
You don’t have to wear an eye mask to achieve these results, of course. But you DO need to sleep in total darkness.
P.S. There’s ANOTHER light-linked trick that can help you sleep well at night. But it’ NOT what you might expect. In fact, it has to do with exposing yourself to MORE light. I explain HERE in my earlier free report.
Source:
“Wearing an eye mask during overnight sleep improves episodic learning and alertness,” Sleep, 2022;, zsac305, https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsac305
Written By Dr. Richard Gerhauser, M.D.
For years he’s been the trusted doctor for celebrities, world-class athletes, and countless seniors looking to reclaim their health.
And now…for the first time ever… he’s making his medical breakthroughs available to readers all across America.
Dr. Richard Gerhauser, M.D. is one of the most pioneering and innovative minds in medicine today – and he delivers cutting-edge cures each month through his Natural Health Response newsletter.
Natural Health Response readers get full access to Dr. Gerhauser’s protocols for chronic pain… heart disease… diabetes… Alzheimer’s… and even cancer. These are the very same treatments Dr. Gerhauser recommends to his own patients at his practice in Tucson, Arizona.
In addition to being a board-certified medical doctor, Dr. Gerhauser has earned two master’s degrees and has served as a clinical professor at the University of Arizona.
And as a physician at the world-famous Canyon Ranch, Dr. Gerhauser treated celebrities from around the world who paid dearly for the type of next-generation health information he provides Natural Health Response readers each month.
View More Free Articles
The "Healthy" Food DESTROYING Your Heart
Today, I have an important PSA for my readers. It’s a WARNING about a compound that could send your risk of having a major cardiovascular event—or dying from it—skyrocketing. The worst part? It’s a so-called health food you could be consuming to REDUCE your risk of… can you guess it?… heart disease! You know that...
Battling Arthritis? Make This Move NOW for a Better Future
Pain has a way of keeping you in the present. It’s easy to become hyperfocused on what’s wrong—which, ironically, can WORSEN the pain. If you’re dealing with arthritis pain, I encourage you to take steps that could help improve your FUTURE—not just your present. That means not just focusing on immediate pain relief… but on...
The Hidden Cause of PLUMMETING Energy Levels
The older you get, the more likely you are to experience depression—and the lack of energy that goes along with it. Many factors can increase this risk. Things like your gut health, hormone levels, or your social situation, to name a few. But there’s another underlying factor that no one – for some reason –...
11-Minute Solution PREVENTS 1 in 10 Early Deaths
You already know that exercise reduces your risk of cardiovascular disease and early death. According to the current guidelines, you’ll need 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week to get those benefits. That breaks down to 21.4 minutes of daily exercise. I don’t know many people who get that much exercise every day. But the...
Don't Touch Another Strawberry Until You Read THIS!
If you’ve ever had a freshly picked, vine-ripened strawberry, you KNOW there’s nothing quite so juicy with a delicious burst of flavor. And you ALSO know that the imposter strawberries sold in grocery stores are bland and tasteless in comparison. They barely deserve to be called strawberries. But a recent study showed that these strawberries...
"Diaphragm Dumbbell" Dials Down Blood Pressure
They call high blood pressure “the silent killer” for a reason. It can quietly do damage for YEARS before your first symptoms appear. And once they do, the clock is ticking to get your numbers under control. Because if you don’t, your risk of a heart attack or stroke goes through the roof. You see,...
The Nutrient Secret to Better Sleep
Don’t make the mistake of thinking poor sleep… or not getting ENOUGH of it … is no big deal. Bad quality sleep doesn’t just leave you feeling groggy and gross the next day. Over time, it can play a big part in just about any MAJOR health issue you can think of. That includes heart...
Are You Getting Enough Vitamin H?
Some vitamins are household names by now. If I mention nutrients like vitamin D, C, or B12, not only have you likely heard of them, but you probably also know a little about why they’re good for you. You might already have them in your “medicine” cabinet. However, I’m guessing you’ve never heard of vitamin...
“Bearded Tooth” Fungus Regrows Brain Cells?!
There’s a rare mushroom that goes by MANY names… But we should add the nickname “Smart Mushroom” to the list because of its ability to support cognitive health and brain function. Previous studies have shown this fungus can help improve cognitive function, protect against memory loss, and reduce symptoms of depression. In a recent study,...
Tackle BOTH Sleep and Mood Problems
I love using unconventional methods to treat common problems. And by unconventional, I mean anything other than what the mainstream would tell you to do. Take mood and sleep problems, for example. Too many people get a prescription and are sent on their merry way. I call that “getting written off.” Instead, I’ve found a...
