According to a new study, even if your dreams aren’t heated or steamy, falling into rapid eye movement (REM), sleep may still warm you from the inside.
Warm-blooded animals that are warmer than others have more REM sleeping time.
Jerome Siegel from the University of California Los Angeles is a leading neuroscientist and neurologist who believes that the association should be investigated more.
Siegel ArgumentsREM Sleep might be “like shivering in the brain”Non-REM sleep causes brain and body temperature drops in hens.
REM is when the brain becomes extremely active. This raises the organ’s temperature. REM sleep is almost always followed by non-REM sleep. This is when the brain, body, and temperature are at their lowest.
“REM sleep could be described as a thermostatically controlled brain heating mechanism that is triggered when the temperature drops are linked to a decreased metabolism in non-REM sleeping.” Writes Siegel.
“Then, REM Sleep ends after the required amount of REM has been achieved to bring the brain temperature up to the waking temperature.
It is possible that animals have seasonal variations in the length of their sleep. This is most evident in hibernation. But even non-hibernating animals, such as Arctic reindeer and Arctic reindeer have a 43 percent higher sleep duration in winter than they do in summer. Winter months are also a time when humans in hunter-gatherer communities sleep an hour more.
Could REM sleep be used to protect the brains of animals from the cold, while still allowing them vital rest?
Siegel thinks it is possible, even though other hypotheses regarding REM sleep have been flawed.
For instance, some scientists have suggested that non-REM sleep might be possible. Helps to eliminate toxinsREM sleep is good for the brain. Memory and learning enhancementPossible by pruning back neural connectionsto improve brain efficiency.
Here’s the thing: REM sleep is a state in which there is a lot of brain activity. It is similar to waking. This would imply that after synapses and toxins are removed from the brain, they could be simply re-created.
It is also possible that there is no relationship between REM duration and cognitive power. This suggests it may not be a causal relationship. Potential role in learningIt is possible to exaggerate. Platypuses, for instance, experience up to 8 hours of REM sleep a night – longer than any other animal, including humans. This is why it’s possible that the platypus needs this stage of sleep to increase brain efficiency.
On the other hand, this bizarre creature is a monotreme – a sort of middle ground between a cold- and warm-blooded animal. This would suggest that the platypus will need more REM sleep to keep its brain functioning at its optimal temperature.
Therefore, REM sleep may have been originally developed by endotherms as a way to protect their brains from danger.
Dolphins may be the exception to the rule, as they are mammals that do not show signs of REM sleep. These anomalies may be able to sleep uni-hemispheric, which is when only one part of the brain goes to sleep at a given time. These cases are exceptional in that the brain’s temperature is not affected by sleep. A’space heater” still heats one area of the room, which reduces the need to do periodic warm-ups.
On the other hand, migrating birds Some signs of REM sleeping may be present in some people.Despite the fact that they also enjoy uni-hemispheric sleeping. Because this stage of sleep involves both brain sides, these birds can only fall into REM for short periods. It is possible to fly with an inactive mind, which can prove very dangerous.
Siegel believes the unihemispheric exception could be further tested with fur seals. These animals sleep on both their land-sides and only one side of their brains in water.
The ongoing debate about REM sleep and its ability to keep the motor running for animals like us makes it difficult to believe that REM sleep is necessary. REM sleep in cold blooded reptilesAlthough it’s not yet confirmed, it can’t be ruled.
While it is important to sleep to conserve energy, animals must ensure they are still able to awaken to danger. If Siegel is correct, REM sleep could be a new way to solve an age-old problem.
The study was published by The Lancet.
