For decades, the study of sleep focused primarily on what the brain does during rest: how memories consolidate, how hormones regulate, how the body repairs muscle tissue, how emotional processing occurs overnight. What scientists did not fully understand was what the brain does to maintain itself, to quite literally clean up after the demands of a full day of activity. That understanding arrived in 2013, when a team of researchers led by neuroscientist Maiken Nedergaard at the University of Rochester made a discovery that would change the way science thinks about sleep and brain health.

In today’s demanding world — with constant stimuli, digital overload, and little time to recover — many people’s autonomic nervous systems (ANS) remain in a state of heightened vigilance. Instead of toggling freely between activation (“fight or flight”) and restoration (“rest and digest”), the system can become stuck in alert mode, leading to fatigue, tension, disrupted sleep, and low resilience. Grounding techniques offer a simple yet powerful way to help the body and mind recalibrate by reconnecting with the senses, the body’s support systems, and the present moment.

“It’s very, very difficult to get angry when you’re laughing. And my own experience is, you get good at finding the comic element of what happens.” —Irvine