The Class That Changed Everything About Brain Health
Your brain is your most important asset. It holds your memories, relationships, emotions, and decisions. It’s the source of your creativity, your income, and ultimately, your quality of life. It’s also the only organ you can’t replace. So shouldn’t we all learn how to take care of it through proper sleep?
That question has driven my work for nearly a decade, but it started with a single college course on sleep science.
The Wake-Up Call: Discovering Sleep and Cognitive Performance
As a senior at Notre Dame, I enrolled in Dr. Jessica Payne’s course, “The Sleeping Brain.” I expected to learn some interesting facts about dreams and sleep cycles. What I got instead was a complete paradigm shift about the science of sleep and how I was living my life.
I was immediately struck by two revelations about sleep quality and brain function:
First, the sheer magnitude of what happens during sleep. Far from being a passive state of rest, sleep is when your brain does some of its most important work—consolidating memories, processing emotions, and transforming daily information into insights and connections you use in everything from work presentations to creative problem-solving. This process, known as memory consolidation, is essential for learning and cognitive performance.
Second, I was doing virtually everything wrong. Late-night study sessions. Screens in bed. Irregular sleep schedules. Using caffeine to power through. I was the poster child for terrible sleep habits, unknowingly sabotaging the very reason I was in college: to learn and grow. The effects of sleep deprivation were undermining my cognitive abilities.
The Sleep-Learning Connection We All Miss
The irony hit me hard. Here I was, investing time and money into my education, yet completely undermining that investment by neglecting my sleep quality. Every all-nighter wasn’t a badge of honor—it was actively preventing my brain from consolidating what I’d learned that day.
But this isn’t just a college problem. Across all stages of life, we treat sleep as optional—something to sacrifice when we’re busy, stressed, or chasing deadlines. We’ll invest in productivity apps, standing desks, and premium coffee subscriptions, but ignore the single most powerful tool for cognitive performance and brain health: quality sleep.
The research on sleep and learning is clear: insufficient sleep impairs attention, working memory, and the ability to form new memories. Yet we continue to deprioritize it.
Improving Sleep Quality Through Behavioral Change
Armed with knowledge from Dr. Payne’s sleep science course, I started experimenting with evidence-based sleep improvement strategies:
- Creating consistent sleep and wake times (even on weekends) to regulate circadian rhythms
- Removing screens from my bedroom to reduce blue light exposure
- Understanding my chronotype and working with it, not against it
- Learning evidence-based techniques to manage stress and wind down
- Optimizing my sleep environment for better sleep quality
The changes were remarkable. Not just “I feel more rested” remarkable, but measurable improvements in focus, creativity, emotional resilience, and academic performance. I was learning more effectively, thinking more clearly, and genuinely enjoying life more.
But the biggest change? Understanding that sleep isn’t time lost—it’s an investment in everything you want to accomplish while awake. Better sleep quality directly translated to better cognitive performance.
From Personal Discovery to Sleep Science Mission
After graduation, I couldn’t shake the question: Why don’t we teach everyone about the importance of sleep for brain health?
The research from Dr. Payne’s lab and other leading sleep scientists was groundbreaking, revealing the critical role of sleep in memory consolidation, emotional regulation, and overall cognitive function. But this knowledge was locked in academic journals. Meanwhile, millions of people were struggling with sleep deprivation, turning to pills, gadgets, or simply accepting exhaustion as normal.
That’s why I approached Dr. Payne with an idea: What if we could translate cutting-edge sleep science into practical tools anyone could use to improve their sleep quality?
The result became Somni—a platform built on a simple belief: Improving your sleep through behavioral change is one of the best long-term investments you can make. No pills. No complicated devices. Just evidence-based sleep improvement strategies to help you get back to pure, restorative sleep.
The Science-Backed Benefits of Better Sleep
Over the years since that course, I’ve learned that better sleep quality isn’t just about feeling less tired. The research shows profound benefits across multiple domains:
Cognitive Performance and Learning Sharper thinking, enhanced memory consolidation, improved creativity, faster learning, better decision-making
Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health Greater resilience to stress, improved mood regulation, deeper relationships, reduced anxiety and depression risk
Physical Health and Immunity Stronger immune function, better metabolic health, reduced disease risk, improved cardiovascular health
Professional Impact and Productivity Enhanced decision-making, increased productivity, sustained energy throughout the day, better focus and attention
Sleep quality is the foundation upon which everything else is built. When you prioritize sleep, you’re investing in your brain health and overall well-being.
The Best Investment in Brain Health
Looking back, that sleep science course wasn’t just an a-ha moment—it was the beginning of understanding what it means to truly take care of yourself through behavioral change grounded in science.
Whether you’re a student trying to optimize learning and memory consolidation, a professional managing complex projects, a parent juggling multiple responsibilities, or simply someone who wants to feel like yourself again—your sleep quality is worth protecting.
Because at the end of the day, you can’t out-caffeinate, out-willpower, or out-hustle poor sleep. The effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance are real and significant. Your brain needs quality sleep to do the essential work that makes you who you are.
Start Your Sleep Improvement Journey
If you’re reading this and recognizing yourself in my college-era sleep habits, know this: It’s not too late to change. The research on behavioral sleep interventions is clear, the strategies work, and your brain is remarkably responsive to better sleep practices—no matter where you’re starting from.
The question isn’t whether sleep matters for brain health and cognitive performance. The question is: Are you ready to invest in improving your sleep quality?
At Somni, we’re committed to making evidence-based sleep improvement accessible to everyone. Because we believe that better sleep isn’t a luxury—it’s a fundamental right that unlocks human potential through better brain health and cognitive performance.