If your brain needs a nap, it will take a nap, with or without you
I think most of us have been there…
You’re on a long car trip. You find yourself nodding off into mini-blackouts. That’s your brain overriding your decision to drive too many miles without enough sleep.
In a recent test, researchers explored the link between brain fog and sleep deprivation. They kept rats awake and stimulated for extended periods
Brain activity showed that tiny clusters of brain neurons occasionally shut down.
It’s the ultimate power nap — napping while awake.
These isolated neuron cluster naps caused the rats to make errors and become forgetful. That’s much the same way we experience frightening two-second blackouts while driving.
Those nods are a clear message that it’s time to pull over and rest. If you’re in need of a nap, your brain will find a way. Even if you don’t.
Sources:
“Tiny clumps of neurons doze off, even while the brain as a whole is awake” Valerie Ross, Discover Magazine, April 2011, discovermagazine.com
