The science of sleep
August 19th, 2009
Author: adminBy Clare Murphy
Health reporter, BBC News
Shakespeare waxed lyrical about it, and not getting enough of it remains a favourite national gripe.
But it is only relatively recently we have started to understand how sleep impacts upon our health, from where we do it to how we do it.
Latest research suggests that those who live under a flight path – or indeed share their bed with a heavy snorer – may suffer from raised blood pressure as a result.
It seems surprising that even when sleeping, our bodies can display such an adverse reaction to noise.
Yet sleep, we have increasingly come to realise, doesn’t mean we turn off for the night when we turn off the light.
Parts of our brain remain incredibly active – and indeed alert to potential dangers in the world outside. They regulate our body accordingly, and if necessary tell us to wake up.
If that sounds bad, pity the dolphin, which always keeps half of its brain awake when asleep so it can continue to swim, come up for air, and of course, avoid predators.Read more…
Category: 
| 
