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

Functional significance of this structural difference, The vertebral bodies...

The vertebral bodies are much larger in the lower back than the neck. What is the functional significance of this structural difference?

What are the major structures within the cell nucleus, Within the cell nucl...

Within the cell nucleus the major structures are: the nucleolus, an optically dense region, spherical shaped, where there are concentrated ribosomal RNA (rRNA) associated to protei

Cell theory, what year did virchow state where a cell exists there must hav...

what year did virchow state where a cell exists there must have been a pre-existing cell

Gibberellins in plant growth , Gibberellins in plant growth  Gibbere...

Gibberellins in plant growth  Gibberellins were first isolated from the culture of a fungus Gibberella fujikuori. Gibberellins has a significant effect on stem elongation

Hypospadias, Hypospadias Hypospadias is the most common congenital an...

Hypospadias Hypospadias is the most common congenital anomaly of the penis. In this uretheral opening is situated on ventral side of the shaft of penis in one or several posi

Define application of nutrition knowledge in geld of sports, Define Applica...

Define Application of Nutrition Knowledge in Geld of Sports? By the time you are ready to do this unit, you have been exposed to a good deal of the basic knowledge of nutrition

All cells have ribosomes and protei, Select all that are true: Plants do no...

Select all that are true: Plants do not have mitochondria, they have chloroplasts to convert the sun's energy into chemical energy via photosynthesis and do not need to make ATP us

Write the blood sugar in normal range and range in diabetes, Q. Write the b...

Q. Write the blood sugar in normal range and range in diabetes? Normal           Diabetes mellitus >126 mg / dl >200 mg / dl

Zoology, Classification of the Phylum Protozoa up to orders

Classification of the Phylum Protozoa up to orders

CELL, ORGNELS WITH SINGLE WALL

ORGNELS WITH SINGLE WALL

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