Tag Archives: Nights

Struggling to Focus After a Rough Night’s Sleep? It’s Your Brain’s Cleanliness to Blame!

Posted on by
Reply

Is your concentration wavering? Perhaps your brain needs a rinse!

Jenny Evans/Getty Images

It’s well-known that our focus diminishes when we’re short on sleep. But what causes this? It may stem from your brain momentarily losing attention as it attempts to rejuvenate itself.

While we sleep, our brain undergoes a cleansing process where cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is cycled in and out of the brain, flushing out daily accumulated metabolic waste. If this does not occur, it could potentially harm brain cells.

Laura Lewis and her team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology hypothesized that the drop in alertness following sleep deprivation could be the brain’s way of trying to recover while awake.

To test this theory, researchers asked 26 participants aged 19 to 40 to sleep adequately to feel refreshed, and two weeks later, they kept the same group awake all night in the lab.

In both circumstances, the team used MRI scans to record the brain activity of participants the following morning as they performed two tasks. These tasks required them to press a button whenever they heard a specific sound or noticed a cross on the screen transforming into a square, which occurred numerous times over 12 minutes.

As predicted, participants struggled to press the button more frequently when they were sleep-deprived compared to when they were well-rested. This indicates that insufficient sleep hampers concentration.

Crucially, analysis of the brain scans revealed that participants lost focus about two seconds prior to the CSF being expelled from the base of the brain, with CSF being reabsorbed roughly one second after attentiveness returned.

“If you envision the brain-cleansing process as akin to a washing machine, you fill it with water, run it around, and then you need to drain it. The lack of focus represents the ‘swishing’ stage during this cleaning process,” explains Lewis.

The findings imply that if the brain cannot cleanse itself during sleep, it resorts to doing so while awake, which compromises concentration, according to Lewis. “If this wave of fluid doesn’t materialize because you’ve been awake all night, your brain begins to sneak it in during the daytime, at the expense of your focus.”

While the exact cause of how this cleaning process leads to diminished attention remains unknown, pinpointing the brain circuits involved could illuminate ways to mitigate the cognitive repercussions of sleep deprivation, Lewis suggests.

Topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Struggling to Focus After a Poor Night’s Sleep? Blame Your Overworked Mind!

Posted on by
Reply

Are you having trouble focusing? It might be that your brain needs a wash.

Jenny Evans/Getty Images

We all recognize that lack of sleep hampers our concentration, but what’s the reason behind it? It may be that your brain is temporarily losing focus as it attempts to refresh itself.

During sleep, the brain undergoes a cleansing process where cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) circulates into the organs and drains out at the base of the brain. This cycle helps eliminate the metabolic waste that builds up during waking hours. If this doesn’t happen, brain cells could be harmed.

Laura Lewis and her team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology theorized that the drop in alertness often seen after insufficient sleep could stem from the brain trying to make up for lost time while awake.

To test this theory, researchers enlisted 26 participants aged between 19 and 40 to first ensure they were well-rested. Two weeks later, they were kept awake overnight in a lab setting.

In both instances, the researchers recorded participants’ brain activity using MRI scans the next morning while they performed two specific tasks. During these tasks, participants needed to press a button every time they heard a particular sound or saw a cross on the screen transform into a square. This occurred many times over a span of 12 minutes.

As anticipated, participants struggled to hit the button significantly more often when sleep-deprived compared to when they were well-rested. This indicates that lack of sleep diminishes concentration capacity.

Notably, the analysis of the brain scans revealed that participants lost focus approximately two seconds before the CSF was expelled from the base of the brain. Additionally, the CSF was reabsorbed into the brain about one second after attention was regained.

“Think of the brain-cleansing process like a washing machine: you fill it with water, let it agitate, and then drain it. The loss of attention corresponds to the swirling phase,” Lewis explains.

The results imply that if the brain is unable to cleanse itself during sleep, it compensates while you’re awake, thus impairing concentration, according to Lewis. “If this wave of fluid flow doesn’t occur, because you were awake the entire night, your brain starts sneaking in this process during the day, but it comes at the price of your focus.”

While the exact reason for how this cleaning process affects attention remains unclear, pinpointing the specific brain circuits involved may help uncover strategies to mitigate the cognitive impacts of sleep deprivation, Lewis states.

Topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Simple (and unexpected) hacks for getting better sleep during warm nights

Posted on by
Reply

Struggling to catch some shut-eye with temperatures soaring in your bedroom? As climate change intensifies and heatwaves become more common, researchers have observed that nighttime temperatures are rising at a faster rate compared to daytime temperatures.

This trend of climate change is affecting sleep quality, making it increasingly difficult to get a good night’s rest. Studies show that people lose an average of 44 hours of sleep due to heat every year, and this is not limited to specific regions. A recent global study revealed that higher temperatures are linked to shorter sleep durations across 68 countries, with individuals experiencing shortened sleep times with warmer temperatures.

The study involved 47,000 adults who used wrist-worn sleep trackers to monitor their sleep patterns compared to both the average and their personal baseline. The results confirmed that as temperatures increased, sleep durations decreased.

“People are going to bed later and waking up earlier than usual,” said Dr. Kelton Miner, a data scientist at Columbia University and the lead author of the study. “This shift in sleep patterns increases the likelihood of experiencing shorter sleep durations compared to one’s individual baseline.”

Research projections indicate that by the end of the century, individuals could lose an average of two weeks of sleep annually due to temperature-related disturbances, equating to 50 to 58 hours of lost sleep. Compensating for this significant sleep deficit becomes challenging for many.

Addressing the issue, Miner suggested that while air conditioning provides relief, the widespread adoption of this technology would significantly impact global energy consumption. Alternatively, using fans can be a more energy-efficient cooling option, promoting heat loss through convection and evaporation.

Adhering to optimal sleep temperatures, enhancing indoor ventilation, and adopting cooling measures like cold showers can aid in combating the adverse effects of rising nighttime temperatures on sleep quality. As the battle against heat-induced sleep loss continues, exploring innovative solutions such as cooling mattress toppers can provide additional relief.

About our experts

Dr. Kelton Miner: A data scientist at Columbia University specializing in climate and technological change research, encompassing studies like One Planet, Lancet, and Sleeping pills reviews.

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Japan’s lunar lander “Slim” miraculously persevered through three lunar nights

Posted on by
Reply

The SLIM lander continues to take photos of the moon's surface.

JAXA

Somehow, Japan's Smart Lunar Survey Lander (SLIM) survived three lunar nights. This is an amazing feat. The moon's nights are so cold that the spacecraft's batteries and electronics fail, so a lunar lander can typically survive one day on the moon, or about two weeks on Earth.

The lunar lander is built to withstand the moon's nighttime temperatures, which can drop to -133°C (-208°F). SLIM is no exception. There are no heaters or special insulation designed to keep the spacecraft's electronics warm.

The original plan was for the lunar night to mark the end of the lander's mission, so no one expected to wake up again when night fell less than two weeks after SLIM's January 19 landing. I wasn't expecting it. But on February 25, the sun rose over SLIM's resting place near the moon's south pole, lighting it up again.

Alarmed, the SLIM operations crew on Earth began instructing the lander to image and measure its surroundings until the next lunar night, when the mission would truly end. In late March, the sun rose again and the lander powered on and began transmitting data to Earth.

By all standards, the mission was a shocking success, even after a difficult landing left the spacecraft tilted. But yet another surprise awaited – three nights later on April 23, SLIM was revived again.

X's SLIM official account Posted“SLIM maintained its primary functionality even after a three-night stay, which was not envisioned at the time of its design.” New photos of the lunar surface accompanying that post show that the lander once again understands the moon. It also shows that they are working hard to collect data that will not only help them do this, but also help them create a spacecraft that can withstand moonlit nights.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com