Tag: sleep

Biology, Brain, General Neuroscience, Neuroscience

Humans Remain Behaviorally Responsive to External Auditory Stimuli During Deep Sleep

Author: Vignesh Subramanian, Class of 2024 It has long been assumed that sleep is a stable state of unconsciousness in which an individual cannot perceive and respond to most external stimuli. However, recent studies have indicated that humans can process information, discriminate between basic sensations, and carry out limited executive functions, such as answering yes–no questions, while still asleep. Some oneirological studies have focused on … Continue reading Humans Remain Behaviorally Responsive to External Auditory Stimuli During Deep Sleep

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Neuroscience

Early Bird or Night Owl? Circadian Preferences May Include Short-Term Memory and Cognition

Joyce Chen ’23 Circadian rhythms are notably known as the body’s master clock. They regulate important physical and behavioral effects within the body by reacting to light and darkness. Interestingly, an individual’s preference for being an early bird or a night owl is determined by circadian preference, also known as chronotype. Chronotype impacts the desire for earlier or later sleep by combining circadian rhythms and … Continue reading Early Bird or Night Owl? Circadian Preferences May Include Short-Term Memory and Cognition

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Biology, General Psychology, Health and Medicine, Sociology

How Relaxing Music Affects Sleep

Ayesha Azeem ‘23 Sleep is vital for maintaining physical and mental health and general well-being. However, our society often witnesses sleep disturbances, especially as we get older and in those who suffer from psychological disorders. However, many people, especially the elderly or those suffering from psychological disorders, experience sleep disturbances. Though some may use sleep-inducing medication, this may not be as effective as toleration can … Continue reading How Relaxing Music Affects Sleep

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Brain, General Neuroscience, Neuroscience

Neurons that Help Us Forget

Nicole Zhao ’20 Imagine having the ability to never forget. This would come in handy if one needed to memorize a textbook or lecture slides for an exam. However, being able to remember every single moment of your life in snapshots does have its drawbacks. This is exactly what happened to a man known as subject S. who was known for his unforgettable memory in … Continue reading Neurons that Help Us Forget

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Health

Reducing Exhaustion in Entrepreneurs Through Mindfulness Exercises

Raymond Cheung ‘22 Entrepreneurs play an essential role in developing innovations and redefining the way businesses operate. However, entrepreneurship is arduous and often causes entrepreneurs to work until they are exhausted to achieve their goals. Although it may not be possible to prevent exhaustion, mindfulness exercises can potentially mitigate the effect of exhaustion. Researchers at Oregon State University present promising findings of the effect of … Continue reading Reducing Exhaustion in Entrepreneurs Through Mindfulness Exercises

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Disease, Health

Sleep Modulates Hematopoiesis and Protects Against Atherosclerosis

By Nicole Zhao ’20 Numerous pathological conditions such as obesity, diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease have been connected to insufficient or interrupted sleep. However, little is known about the specific mechanisms by which sleep maintains health. In this study, it was found that sleep regulates hematopoiesis and protects against atherosclerosis in mice. Hematopoiesis is the process of forming blood cellular components from stem cells. Research … Continue reading Sleep Modulates Hematopoiesis and Protects Against Atherosclerosis

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2017-18

The Genetics Behind Sleep Duration

By: Meenu Johnkutty ’21 The need to sleep is one of health and medicine’s biggest paradoxes. Though we spend nearly a third of our lives asleep, little is really known about this process. According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, over 30 to 35% of the population suffers from insomnia, which is characterized by a difficulty in initiating or maintaining sleep throughout the night. … Continue reading The Genetics Behind Sleep Duration

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2017-18

Boredom and the Urge to Sleep: The Link Explained

By: Meenu Johnkutty ’21 If you have ever felt the strong impulse to sleep during a boring lecture or movie, researchers from the University of Tsukuba in Japan can explain why. In their study, published in Nature, the researchers led by Yo Oishi implicated a region of the brain called the nucleus accumbens in the onset of slow wave sleep. The nucleus accumbens is a … Continue reading Boredom and the Urge to Sleep: The Link Explained

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2017-18

The Effects of Fish Consumption on Sleep and Cognition in Children

By Meenu Johnkutty ’21 Eating fish might be more beneficial than originally thought. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania recently published a study outlining the benefits of fish consumption on sleep quality and cognition in children. The study was originally published in Scientific Reports, a branch of Nature, with Jianghong Liu as the lead author. Long chains of omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and … Continue reading The Effects of Fish Consumption on Sleep and Cognition in Children

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Figure 1. Sex-linked distinctions in light perception affect sleep and cognition in humans.
2017-18

Sex Differences Affect Light Perception And Sleep

By Maryna Mullerman ’20 Artificial light and technology have been known to affect human sleep patterns. Scientists think that the circadian clock — physiological 24-hour cycle — might shift in the future. Sarah L. Chellappa and researchers from Harvard Medical School aimed to understand how chronic exposure to light at night affects human health and behavior. They explored how differences in light sensitivity between sexes … Continue reading Sex Differences Affect Light Perception And Sleep

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2016-17, Biology

The Moon and its Effects on Sleep and Behavior

By Lillian Pao (’18)               For centuries, the mythical powers of the moon and its influence over human behavior have fascinated mankind. Because of this fascination, an international group of scientists decided to test whether the lunar phases affected children’s sleeping patterns. The full moon, half moon, and new moon were the three lunar phases that were tested. Over … Continue reading The Moon and its Effects on Sleep and Behavior

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Biology

Sleeping on the Right Side of the Bed

By Meghan Bialt-DeCelie Image Acquired from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_and_weight Figure 1: The lateral sleeping position, found to be the best position for the efficiency of the glymphatic pathway. According to a recent study led by Hedok Lee, PhD and Helene Beneveniste, MD, PhD of Stony Brook University, the position you sleep in affects your body’s efficiency to remove metabolic wastes from the brain in a process called Glymphatic … Continue reading Sleeping on the Right Side of the Bed

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