Rock On!

 


Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs, near Santa Fe New Mexico, October 2019

Back and forth, back and forth... the gentle sway of a hammock instantly relaxes me. Our backyard hammock was well used, and I'm one to gravitate toward a vacant one while on vacation. Since time immemorial, parents rock their babies to quiet and coax them to sleep. We associate the motion with that felt in the womb. And, not surprisingly the new findings suggest "the same is true in adults; our brains are evolutionarily programmed to respond to rocking."*

I love that rocking to sleep may also have significant health benefits such as faster time to sleep, better mood, better quality of sleep and even improved long-term memory! "A night of rocking improved recall threefold."  *Studies show that our long-term memory storage is a nocturnal process of the brain and that slow rhythmic movements, like the swing of a hammock, can synchronize with brain oscillations during sleep. Stimulating the sensory organs in our inner ear also controls our sense of balance and spatial orientation. Gotta love science... rock on!

*Study on Rocking Scientific American and  Konstantinos Kompotis

This post is dedicated to my sister Agnes and brother Rick for their birthdays. They both deserve to put their feet up on their hammocks for different reasons! 

Comments

  1. AnnetteJuly 26, 2021 at 8:34 AM

    Absolutely beautiful. I love rocking as well and hammocks in the open air is extra special.

    ReplyDelete

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