Sleep — By Kaha Mind
Disclaimer: Following views are my own and I am not affiliated with Kaha Mind
Recently, Kaha mind organized a very awesome session on sleep hygiene. It was very informative, and I jotted down the key learnings I had from the session to easily comback and look again.
The session started with quick little trivia busting common myths people have on sleep. Following are some of them:
- A 20 minute power nap during the day will energize you.
- If you have trouble falling asleep at night, it's helpful to get out of bed and do some “boring” task then just lying in the bed.
- For a better sleep, it's better to have a cool dark room.
Culprits for Improper Sleep
- Not taking enough breaks during the day
- Having stress & anxiety
- Using screens like laptop or phone late into the night
Sleep Hormones and some biology
- Melatonin: Its production and release is increased in the dark and it is the main sleep hormone. It is what helps you sleep.
- Melanopsin: It is a photopigment found in cells which increases awareness and keeps us awake. It is triggered with blue light.
So, Melatonin helps you sleep and Melanopsin keeps you awake. Also, in these two, Melanopsin over powers Melatonin. i.e. if you do any activity which increases Melanopsin, you are unlikely to get good sleep.
Binaural Beats
A binaural beat is an illusion created by the brain when you listen to two tones with slightly different frequencies at the same time.
Most of the sleep music/lucid dreaming music audios are actually binaural beats.
