“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.”
- Anne Bradstreet, British poet
It’s that time of the year again. Especially for those of us not fortunate enough to live in warmer climes- the winter is coming.... Read more
We finished the last blog in mid-thought. We were talking about REM sleep and the idea of brain plasticity- the rewiring of our brains that take place when we learn new information.
A recent study in rats showed that 4 days of REM sleep deprivation decreased the amount of new cells in the part of the brain that is associated with... Read more
In my last blog we discussed at length the different stages of sleep, namely non-REM and REM, the biological need for sleep to stay alive, and started discussing what some researchers believe may be the function of some portions of non-REM sleep. We reviewed how there is some evidence linking declarative memory (memory of facts and figures)... Read more
In my last blog we were reviewing the fundamental question of why we sleep. We left off trying to sort out the level of activity of the brain and body during different stages of sleep (i.e. Non-REM and REM).
During non-REM the body and brain are at their most relaxed state. Ironically, most people think of REM as deep... Read more
In this blog, I am going to deal with a question that has stumped some of the most talented researchers in the world. That should hopefully get your attention- this vexing question seems simple, but represents the “holy grail” of biology. The question: why do we sleep? Consider this- we spend approximately one-third... Read more
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