Who is likely to sleep soundly?
Nov 29, 2010
US researchers are a step closer to discovering why some people can sleep peacefully despite noise.
US researchers are a step closer to discovering why some people can sleep peacefully despite noise.
A process in the brain plays a key role in blocking out sound during sleep, they say, and it appears to be more effective in certain individuals.
It may be possible to boost this effect using therapy, drugs or electronic devices, the research published in the journal, Current Biology, reveals.
The researchers studied 12 healthy volunteers at a sleep clinic over the course of three nights. The first night was quiet but during the second and third nights, volunteers were confronted with the sound of telephones ringing, road and air traffic and the beep of hospital equipment.
They were monitored each night using an electroencephalograph, which records the electrical activity of the brain.
The team detected patterns known as sleep spindles which are thought to block out the effects of sound and other sensory information passing through the brain.
Individuals with the highest rates of spindles on the quiet night were less likely to be woken by noise on the second and third nights, and some were not even aware their sleep had been disrupted.
“In recent years, it has been discovered that the sleep spindle is generated by the thalamus, (gateway of sensory information to the brain). Spindles are markers of the blockade of noises during sleep,†the study reveals.
A process in the brain plays a key role in blocking out sound during sleep, they say, and it appears to be more effective in certain individuals.
It may be possible to boost this effect using therapy, drugs or electronic devices, the research published in the journal, Current Biology, reveals.
The researchers studied 12 healthy volunteers at a sleep clinic over the course of three nights. The first night was quiet but during the second and third nights, volunteers were confronted with the sound of telephones ringing, road and air traffic and the beep of hospital equipment.
They were monitored each night using an electroencephalograph, which records the electrical activity of the brain.
The team detected patterns known as sleep spindles which are thought to block out the effects of sound and other sensory information passing through the brain.
Individuals with the highest rates of spindles on the quiet night were less likely to be woken by noise on the second and third nights, and some were not even aware their sleep had been disrupted.
“In recent years, it has been discovered that the sleep spindle is generated by the thalamus, (gateway of sensory information to the brain). Spindles are markers of the blockade of noises during sleep,†the study reveals.