Scientists have made progress in understanding why we sleep more deeply and for longer durations after sleep deprivation. The team, led by Professor Mark Wu at Johns Hopkins University, discovered a neural circuit in micethat appears to monitor sleep loss and triggers deeper, prolonged sleep to recover from it.
The research centered around the idea of “sleep debt”, the gap between required sleep and actual sleep. Until now, it was unclear how the brain tracks this debt. By injecting tracers into 11 sleep-related brain areas in mice, researchers found 22 additional connected regions, showing complex networks involved in regulating sleep.
The neurons discovered seem to record how much the body has slept and activate mechanisms to recover from the deficit. If a similar mechanism is found in humans, it could pave the way for new treatments for sleep disorders, including conditions like narcolepsy.
