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SNOOZE AND LOSE
Submitted by: Autumn Singer, Office of Recreation and Wellness

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have found that if you sleep only 4-6 hours a night for 2 straight weeks, your brain will function as well as it would if you'd stayed up 3 nights in a row! Lack of sleep may build up as excess of the chemical adenosine, which is believed to make the brain fatigues, says Hans P.A. Van Dongen, Ph.D., lead author of the study.

Try these tips from James Maas, Ph.D., author of Power Sleep, to keep your mind alert.

  • Don’t hit snooze. God to bed 15 minutes earlier instead. “The snooze bar disrupts and fragments your sleep,” says Maas. If you need an alarm, he says, “you are sleep deprived.”

  • Take a simulated nap. Close your eyes for 10-15 minutes. “Even if you don’t go to sleep, your brain will go into alpha relaxation rhythms, which will help restore your energy,” says Maas.

  • Stop napping. Take a power nap (20 minutes) only when you’re truly sleep deprived. “ If you’re tired enough to doze during the day, you’re doing something severely wrong at night,” says Maas.

  • Catch Up. But don’t sleep in on weekends. Wake up at the same time on Saturday and Sunday, but take power naps during the day and go to bed 15-90 minutes earlier to get back on schedule.

Source: Men’s Health. September 2003.

 

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. Nova Southeastern University. Revised: October 9, 2006