Somewhere along the way, sleep stopped being a biological necessity and became the first thing to be sacrificed.
Yet sleep and brain health are inseparable. A night of good, restful sleep helps clear toxins from the brain that accumulate during waking hours. During deep sleep, the brain processes the events of the day and strengthens the neural pathways that help us store critical information and learn new skills. When that process is consistently disrupted, the brain loses its ability to function normally - and the risk of mood disorders, stroke and dementia climbs.
On this World Brain Day, which is observed on July 22 every year, we spoke to Dr Vikram Huded, President of the Indian Stroke Association, Director & Clinical Lead - Interventional Neurology Programme, and Head of Neurology, Narayana Health City, Bengaluru, who explained how good sleep can help protect your brain health.
The First Casualty Of Modern Life
Thanks to modern lifestyles, staying awake late into the night is a foregone conclusion. Screen addiction is rampant across age groups. Working professionals compromise on sleep to meet tight deadlines, and surprisingly even those who prided themselves in being 'early to bed' now find their evenings taken up by screens.
However, what most people fail to realise is that sleep isn't a wellness trend or an optional extra; it's foundational to how the brain functions and repairs itself. "When sleep is consistently disrupted, it results in health issues from high blood pressure and chronic stress to lack of movement and poor eating habits, which increase the risk of a number of lifestyle disorders. The risk of stroke becomes one of the most serious fallouts. India carries a heavy share of this burden already," explained Dr Huded.