Scientists regularly argue over the amount of sleep we need. Generally, it is said that we need eight hours of sleep to maintain good health. The question isn’t how much; it is about quality of sleep.

We know that one of the primary purposes of sleep is to enhance the healing and repair processes. We also know that we process the information we took in during the day while we sleep. Those are important functions for our physical and mental health and the bulk of it is done during sleep.

Quality of sleep directly affects the quality of healing and repair. If we are not getting quality sleep, the body and mind are not going to be able to keep up with the repair work we need to stay healthy.

These are all functions that happen on a nightly basis and affect our daily life. Sleep also is important to our future life. The paradox in sleep is that while the night is still, the brain is far from dormant.

While we sleep, our brain cells are producing bursts of electrical pulses that cumulate into rhythmic waves – a sign of heightened brain cell function. These electric waves are critical to brain health in the long term.

We experience brain function in four common frequency ranges. Our conscious mind works in the Beta range which is 13-30 Hz. This is the frequency we operate in during our waking hours. Most people experience the Alpha range during self hypnosis or meditation practices with the brain operating between 8-13 Hz.

Hypnotherapists and experienced meditators work in the Theta range. Theta is signified by brainwaves in the 4-8 Hz range and indicates that we have bypassed the conscious mind and are operating in the subconscious mind. When we reach the Delta range, .1-4 Hz, most of us are in a nice deep sleep. Some experienced meditators are able to remain focused and alert while in the Delta state. Very profound experiences can happen when we are lucky enough to operate in a Delta brainwave state.

There is a fifth brainwave state known as Gamma. Gamma is a relatively new and exciting state that is still being studied in depth. We know that when we are in REM sleep, we move in and out of Gamma, and that it is related to lucid dreaming. Very experienced meditators such as Buddhist monks can access the Gamma range and maintain it. Most people experience it as an “aha-moment” of sudden clarity or understanding.

What is important here is that to get quality sleep, we want to slow down our brainwaves to the point that the mind relaxes. It doesn’t go to sleep, it becomes more coherent and synchronized.

Slow brain waves are associated with restful, refreshing sleep. Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis[1] have found that brain waves help flush waste out of the brain during sleep. Individual neurons coordinate to produce rhythmic waves that push fluid through the brain tissue, washing the tissue in the process.

The neurons act as waste pumps. This synchronized neural activity powers fluid flow and facilitates the removal of waste products from the brain. Author Li-Feng Jiang-Xie, PhD, a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Pathology & Immunology, stated that “If we can build on this process, there is the possibility of delaying or even preventing neurological diseases, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, in which excess waste – such as metabolic waste and junk proteins – accumulate in the brain and lead to neurodegeneration.”[2]

The study went on to speculate that “one of the reasons that we sleep is to cleanse the brain,” Kipnis said. “And if we can enhance this cleansing process, perhaps it’s possible to sleep less and remain healthy.[3] What’s more, the brain varies the amplitude of the brainwaves during this cleaning process. It appears that the large slow brainwaves we find during theta and delta work as general cleaning waves, and the higher frequencies of alpha and gamma are more like spot cleaners.

What all this means is that getting good sleep is critical to cleaning the brain tissue and maintaining good brain health. Like all cells in the body, our brain cells take in food and excrete waste products. And just like every other cell in the body, if waste is allowed to build up, disease sets in.

We can facilitate this process by establishing a daily meditation practice. When we become good at slowing down the mind and allowing ourselves to operate in a low theta brainwave state, or even better, into delta, we are creating the type of brainwave that facilitates this flushing mechanism.

One way we can get better sleep is to do our meditation just before we go to bed. This allows the mind to relax and slow down before we want to go to sleep. The more time we spend in this slow brainwave state, the better our mental and physical health will be.

Quality sleep is critical to our mental health. The amount of time you sleep isn’t as important as the quality of the sleep you are getting. You can help your mental health by getting quality sleep and by establishing a meditative practice in your daily life.

If you are struggling with sleep problems, hypnosis can help you get the quality sleep you need. To find out how hypnosis can help, go to Hidden Pathways Hypnosis and schedule a free consultation

[1] https://scitechdaily.com/tag/washington-university-in-st-louis/

[2] Li-Feng Jiang-Xie, Antoine Drieu, Kesshni Bhasiin, Daniel Quintero, Igor Smirnov and Jonathan Kipnis, 28 February 2024, Nature.

[3] Li-Feng Jiang-Xie, Antoine Drieu, Kesshni Bhasiin, Daniel Quintero, Igor Smirnov and Jonathan Kipnis, 28 February 2024, Nature.