This Simple Sleep Hack Can Help Unlock Greater Brain Power: Study

Health

By Brooke Steinberg And Hannah Sparks

February 28, 2023 | 1:37 p.m.

If you have trouble feeling rested after sleeping, you may benefit from this sleep aid.

Wearing a mask to sleep will help you feel more alert the next day, according to a study published in the journal Sleep.

The researchers found that simply blocking out as much light as possible would increase sleeper alertness the next day.

Sources of ambient light that could play a role include electronics, sunlight, or street lights.

Experts from Cardiff University conducted two sets of experiments involving a total of 124 volunteers aged between 18 and 35, asking them to wear eye masks in bed for several nights, followed by the same number of nights without mask. Participants were also instructed to keep sleep diaries to record their experience with and without the masks and completed the work in their respective homes – ensuring the results reflected real-life sleep scenarios.

After the trials, the participants took three different tests after waking up to measure brain power. They found that people performed better on cognitive exercises and reaction times during the week when they wore eye masks.

However, eye masks had no effect on a third test to examine motor skill learning.

The results further showed no difference in the quantity or quality of sleep when wearing eye masks compared to not; only positive effects on next-day sleepiness were observed.

Study author Viviana Greco, a PhD student at Cardiff, said in a statement that wearing an eye mask could be an “effective and inexpensive solution” to improving alertness and performance at work.

“The implications of our findings are important on many daytime tasks like driving a car or any educational or cultural context that requires learning,” Greco told PsyPost.

The team hypothesized that the masks helped sleepers spend more time in the deepest phase of sleep, also known as slow-wave sleep, which is believed to be important for processing new information and strengthening mental health. Memory.

The researchers note that eye makeup can be particularly useful during the summer when the sun rises as early as 4 a.m.

“As sleep scientists, we understand the importance of getting enough sleep, and waking up at 4 a.m. every day wasn’t ideal,” said Greco, who was inspired to launch the study after moved to a house without shutters.