What purpose does sleep serve for the brain, Biology

Assignment Help:

What purpose does sleep serve for the brain?

A. We don't yet know full answer to this fundamental question however neuroscience is providing intriguing clues. It's increasingly clear that adequate sleep is necessary to consolidate certain types of memories and to improve performance on different learning tasks. If we are deprived of sleep, we don't learn as well. Recent brain research indicates that so-called "slow-wave" sleep, a type of non-REM sleep which generally occurs early in the night, is specifically crucial to learning. Sleeping within 30 hours of new learning seems to be essential, however some studies suggest that brief, 60- to 90-minute naps produce as much improvement in practiced behaviors as a full eight hours of sleep, so long as naps include both slow-wave and REM sleep.

Anyone who has ever pulled an all-nighter knows that lack of sleep can impair learning, memory, attention and decision-making, making it difficult to perform even simple tasks. Our risk of accidents is also greater when we don't sleep well. While average person requires about 8 hours of sleep per night, surveys suggest that America is sleep-deprived. As many as one-fifth of us say daytime sleepiness keeps us from performing at our peak, and nearly as many report having fallen asleep during driving. Chronic lack of sleep or abrupt changes in sleep patterns could signal an underlying problem that warrants evaluation by a qualified sleep doctor.

 


Related Discussions:- What purpose does sleep serve for the brain

Morphological changes - floral induction, Morphological Changes - Floral In...

Morphological Changes - Floral Induction Some of the morphological changes that accompany floral induction are: Change in the shape of meristem, Increase in the ra

Determine the symptoms of bacillus cereus, Determine the Symptoms of bacill...

Determine the Symptoms of bacillus cereus Extremely large numbers (10 8 per gram) of viable cells of B. cereus must be ingested to develop signs and symptoms of the syndrome.

Pisces, I have an assignment about Pisces in zology can you creat it

I have an assignment about Pisces in zology can you creat it

Precursors for gluconeogenesis, Glycerol can act as a substrate for glucose...

Glycerol can act as a substrate for glucose synthesis by conversion to dihydroxyacetone phosphate and an intermediate in gluconeogenesis.  In  order  for citric  acid  cycle pyruva

Relation of water content to functions, Relation of Water Content to Functi...

Relation of Water Content to Functions If an aquatic plant appearing turgid is removed from water and left in the open, it quickly wilts. The water content of the leaves may

Describe digestion of this breakfast, Your breakfast consists of a cup of b...

Your breakfast consists of a cup of black coffee with sugar as well as a plain bagel covered with cream cheese. Describe the digestion of this breakfast as it passes through each m

How does the poison cyanide act upon the aerobic respiration, Q. How does t...

Q. How does the poison cyanide act upon the aerobic respiration? Cyanide is a poison that restrains the last cytochrome of the respiratory chain, interrupting the ATP formation

Is a gene a triplet of consecutive dna nucleotides, Is a gene a triplet of ...

Is a gene a triplet of consecutive DNA nucleotides? A gene is not a triplet of DNA nucleotides with their respective nitrogen-containing bases, like AAG or CGT. The nucleotide

What is ventricular septal defect, What is Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) ...

What is Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) ? VSD accounts for 15-20 per cent of all CHDs. The ventricular septum may be divided into a small membranous portion and a large muscula

How do chloroplasts multiply, How do chloroplasts multiply? Like mitoch...

How do chloroplasts multiply? Like mitochondria chloroplasts have their own DNA, RNA and ribosomes and they self-replicate through binary division.

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd