THE POWER OF THE DOWNSTATE: Recharge Your Life Using Your Body’s Own Restorative Systems (Hachette Go!; on sale April 2022; hardcover; $25.98) by cognitive neuroscientist and University of California at Irvine professor Sara Mednick, PhD, draws on the latest research to show how we can access the most replenishing and repairing aspects of sleep through activities and moments that happen in our mornings, afternoons, and evenings by diving into what “downstates.”
While most of us find our lives full of “upstate” moments that rev up our engines, keeping us in the fight-or-flight stress response for too long, Mednick argues that it’s critical for our health, well-being, and cognitive longevity that we learn how to bring ourselves back to the downstate.
Known for her research on the benefits of sleep and napping, Mednick draws on her original findings—and those of others in many fields of medicine—to create a comprehensive picture of the upstate/downstate rhythms that orchestrate all of our bodies’ vital systems, along with a novel theory that aging is caused by spending less and less time in downstate activities.
THE POWER OF THE DOWNSTATE offers practical, evidence-based insight into how we can all enable those systems to work together in better harmony, and the many physical and psychological health benefits that result.