Brain damaging habit 4 of 10: Sleeping with the head covered

The brain is the largest oxygen consumer in our body. Brain cells are very sensitive to decreases in oxygen levels and don't survive or function well very long without it. Without oxygen, irreversible brain damage starts to occur after around 5 minutes.
Sleeping with the head covered increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and decreases the concentration of oxygen in blood. This is because when you sleep under the covers you continue to breathe in air that you just breathed out which has more carbon dioxide than oxygen. This leads to low oxygen supply to brain cells. Alzheimer’s and dementia are often seen as the result of hypoxia (diminished oxygen supply) to the brain. Repeatedly sleeping with your head under the covers is associated with early onset dementia by age 50, 20 years earlier than should be.
If you already have this habit, try tucking in your blankets from the foot end of your bed to avoid pulling them over your head. Think twice before pulling the blankets over your head or you might stop thinking at all!

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