Neurological processes when just waking up and how to use them to benefit us
What neurological processes occur whe just waking up from sleep, and how can we use them to benefit us? -What activities can we engage in to take advantage of this state (such as reading, NSDR, studying, practicing an instrument, working, memory excercises, listening/reading/writing other language, creative activities, etc...)? -What kinds of activities do not benefit from this state? -What kinds of activities should we avoid during this state? For example, I imagine watching TikTok is particularly detrimental at this stage compared with watching it 4 hours after waking up -How is this state affected by exposure to sunlight or remaining in a pitch-dark room? Does it subtract from or add to the benefits or duration? -When we stop being kind of awake but not fully awake, to being mostly or fully awake? -Can we go a step further and set an alarm to wake us up during a certain sleep stage to gain even more benefits, or to experience a different set of benefits at a specific sleep stage?
REM Rebound Causes
Just finished the second episode in the Matt Walker series. The section on cannabis covered REM rebound and "wild, vivid, crazy dreams" experienced by abstaining cannabis users. What else can cause REM rebound aside from cannabis? As someone who has very vivid terrible dreams but does not partake of cannabis or any other drug or alcohol, what else could be the cause? Supplements, stress, disorders, hormones, or simply just a pattern of poor sleep? (Fantastic series by the way, Dr. Walker is so engaging and brilliant at explaining things. Thank you for making this happen, it's a true gift to listen to and learn from.)