As Mundane as Sleep Seems, It's Still a Mystery
But scientists are always learning more about it
Hiya!
After all this time, sleep largely remains an enigma. We’re sure of some things — sleep has four cycles, and each has an important job. We also know sleep is crucial for survival and impacts our physical and mental health. Though there’s plenty we’re still learning, such as how it all works so perfectly and why it’s vital to our health, along with practically all other animals who sleep.
Still, as time continues and technology advances, experts are slowly chipping away at the mystery. Luckily, it seems we’re in a fortunate time for researchers studying sleep since I’ve noticed a few studies about sleep with some fascinating results — including a sleep molecule never seen by scientists before.
Surprise, a Personal Story
Despite being a terrible napper, I’m a big fan of sleeping and have prioritized it for most of my life. Through experimentation over the years, I discovered nine hours of sleep is my happy place. It’s when I function and feel the best.
I mean, I do okay on seven or eight, but only for a few nights before I begin to feel negative effects. But sleeping ten hours leaves me groggy and needing a pot of coffee. And anyone who has ever lived with me knows that when my sleep is regularly interrupted, I’m not someone they want to be around.
But my interest in the brain and sleep may have something to do with a hazy memory I have some time between the ages of seven and nine. I was sleeping in a doctor’s office while a cap of wires on my head attached to a machine scratched my brain waves on a continuous sheet of paper — I later learned this was an electroencephalogram (EEG).
I awoke when my dad came into the room with the doctor, but being curious about what they were talking about, I kept my eyes closed and pretended to sleep. Go figure, I don’t remember much of their conversation now, but I do recall the doctor telling my dad that from the EEG printout, she knew I wasn’t really asleep right then.
My brain ratted me out, the jig was up.
I opened my eyes, shocked the doctor knew I was awake just from looking at scribbles on paper. I still remember the amazement I felt that such a thing was possible.
Perhaps this experience triggered my fascination with the brain and sleep. I’m not sure. Either way, I’m always excited when experts learn new things and bring us one step closer to understanding their mysteries. This is exactly what experts have done this year.
During Sleep, the Brain is Still Awake
We’ve known for a while now that sleep plays a massive role in maintaining our physical and mental health, and now we’re working out the specifics. For instance, researchers know sleep is crucial to forming relational memories — our ability to make connections between people, objects, events, and places — but they don’t know the intricate details of how it happens. Yet, we sleep to help us form the right connections.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Curious Adventure to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.