Memory Issues Why A Good Night’s Sleep Matters More Than You Think

If you’ve been feeling forgetful, foggy or simply struggling to stay focused, poor sleep may be playing a bigger role than you think. Sleep is where the magic happens that allows for building, strengthening and protecting your memory.

Memory works in three key parts: learning, storing and recalling, and sleep supports each one. Deep non-REM sleep acts like the brain’s filing system. During this stage, new information from the day is organised and stabilised so it can be remembered later. It also clears out unimportant details so your brain can focus on what matters.

REM sleep plays a different but equally vital role. In this dream-heavy stage, the brain connects ideas, processes emotions and creatively reorganises information. This is why “sleeping on it” often brings clarity the next morning. REM sleep helps you better understand, integrate and apply what you’ve learned.

When sleep quality is disturbed, we lose the ability to store new information or recall it. The first night of sleep after any learning is vital for locking in those memories properly. Common disrupters of sleep quality that can lead to brain fog and the inability to learn and remember important information are alcohol, caffeine and untreated sleep apnea.

The good news is that improving sleep quality can have a powerful impact on memory, focus and overall wellbeing. If you snore or think you may have sleep apnea, CPAP Direct is ready to help.

Visit cpap.com.au or drop into your nearest store to talk to our experts about what you can do to sleep better and wake up feeling refreshed.

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