Sleep
hideSleep is a natural state of bodily rest observed in humans and other animals. It is distinguished from quiet wakefulness by a decreased ability to react to stimuli, and it is more easily reversible than hibernation or coma. It is common to all mammals and birds, and is also seen in many reptiles, amphibians, and fish. In humans, other mammals, and a substantial majority of other animals that have been studied (such as some species of fish, birds, ants, and fruit flies), regular sleep is essential for survival.
The purposes and mechanisms of sleep are only partly clear and are the subject of intense research.
For more information about Sleep, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with sleep
Waking up memories while you sleep
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 19, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (9) |
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They were in a deep sleep, yet sounds, such as a teakettle whistle and a cat's meow, somehow penetrated their slumber. The 25 sounds presented during the nap were reminders of earlier spatial learning, though the Northwestern ...
Dreams may have an important physiological function
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 12, 2009 |
3.9 / 5 (27) |
12
(PhysOrg.com) -- Dreams have long been assumed to have psychological functions such as consolidating emotional memories and processing experiences or problems, but according to a Harvard psychiatrist and sleep ...
New pattern in our biological clock overturns long-held theory
Oct 08, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (22) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- University of Michigan mathematicians and their British colleagues say they have identified the signal that the brain sends to the rest of the body to control biological rhythms, a finding that overturns ...
The Role of Sleep in Learning New Words
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Sep 11, 2009 |
5 / 5 (9) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study has demonstrated for the first time the importance of sleep in learning new words, and has shown the process has fast and slow components. The slow component is associated with ...
Why sleep? Scientist delves into one of science's great mysteries
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Aug 20, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (22) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Bats, birds, box turtles, humans and many other animals share at least one thing in common: They sleep. Humans, in fact, spend roughly one-third of their lives asleep, but sleep researchers still don't know ...
First human gene implicated in regulating length of human sleep
Aug 13, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
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Scientists have discovered the first gene involved in regulating the optimal length of human sleep, offering a window into a key aspect of slumber, an enigmatic phenomenon that is critical to human physical and mental health.
Sleep Apnea May Not Be Closely Linked to Heart Failure Severity
May 06, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
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Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and central sleep apnea (CSA) are not markedly decreased in heart failure (HF) patients managed with beta-blockers and spironolactone, reports a study in the March issue of Journal of Cardiac Fai ...
A Single Neuron Can Change the Activity of the Whole Brain
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
May 01, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (16) |
2
(PhysOrg.com) -- The pulsing of a single neuron can switch a brain’s waves from the equivalent of a big ocean swell to ripples on a pond, according to new research from Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator ...
Dolphins maintain round-the-clock visual vigilance
May 01, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (8) |
2
Dolphins have a clever trick for overcoming sleep deprivation. Sam Ridgway from the US Navy Marine Mammal Program explains that they are able to send half of their brains to sleep while the other half remains ...
'Sleep talking' PCs save energy and money
Technology / Computer Sciences
Apr 24, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (16) |
6
Personal computers may soon save large amounts of energy by "sleep talking." Computer scientists at UC San Diego and Microsoft Research have created a plug-and-play hardware prototype for personal computers ...
Baby's first dreams: Research reveals sleep cycles in early fetus
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Apr 13, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (8) |
3
After about seven months growing in the womb, a human fetus spends most of its time asleep. Its brain cycles back and forth between the frenzied activity of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and the quiet resting ...
Sleep: Spring cleaning for the brain?
Apr 02, 2009 |
4.1 / 5 (8) |
5
(PhysOrg.com) -- If you've ever been sleep-deprived, you know the feeling that your brain is full of wool.
Researchers find genes important to sleep
Feb 22, 2009 |
3.8 / 5 (5) |
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For many animals, sleep is a risk: foraging for food, mingling with mates and guarding against predators just aren't possible while snoozing.
What happens when we sleep
Jan 28, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (8) |
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Lack of sleep is a common complaint but for many, falling asleep involuntarily during the day poses a very real and dangerous problem. A new study from the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) at McGill University demonstrates ...
Your face reveals sleep disorder risk
Jan 13, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (7) |
2
(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of researchers from the University of Sydney has developed an innovative method to analyse digital photographs of faces in order to determine an individual's risk of developing Obstructive Sleep Apnoea ...
