Why must you sleep well? The obvious answers are to feel refreshed, to rest your body, to rest your brain etc. What if I told you that you must sleep well to solve your problems, get inspiration and be more successful? Yes, sleep does all this and much more!
What exactly happens to our mind when we sleep? Does our mind sleep as well? No, it still functions — more efficiently, if anything!
During your waking and working hours, your mind is constantly engaged in one thought after another; at night, it gets a respite.
That is when it can take stock of all your thoughts. Then creative solutions come to the fore!
But how much sleep does one need to let the mind get into this ‘genius’ groove? One way of checking is to notice if you feel sleepy during the day. If you do, you are not getting enough sleep.
The old dictum, ‘Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise’ does carry some truth in it. The most productive part of our sleep is the first half of the night. So going to bed early helps us find solutions; when we find solutions we become wise; wisdom leads to success.
Before going to sleep, mull over your problem. Don’t fret over it; just direct all your thoughts towards it. Now ask your mind to find a solution… and go off to sleep. This act of ‘handing over’ is very important. Once you have fallen asleep, your brain will start working at solving your problem. The solution may come in your dreams or may pop up in your mind any time of the day.
Sleep also improves your memory. During sleep, the brain sorts out your experiences and stores them. But even this function happens most effectively in the first half of the night.
The best way to remember all that you study is by studying for two hours (late evening) just before going off to sleep (early). If you are going through a bad patch, enough sleep is an essential ingredient to help your ‘emotional’ state.