(ANSA) - ROME, JANUARY 19 - Many can happen, especially in periods of possible isolation and quarantine linked to Covid, to fall asleep in front of the TV during long evenings spent at home.
However, the results of a new study suggest that this habit does not help you sleep well and feel rested, because it keeps the brain always on alert.
While we sleep, in fact, this precious organ continues to monitor the environment, balancing the need to protect sleep with that of waking up in response to any relevant stimuli and according to an Austrian research published in the Journal of Neuroscience, an example of how the brain manages to do so is to respond selectively to unknown voices, such as those coming from TV, respect that familiar. Researchers at the University of Salzburg measured the brain activity of 17 sleeping adults, in response to familiar and unfamiliar voices. The unknown voices elicited more K-complexes, i.e. types of brainwaves linked to sensory disturbances during sleep, than the familiar voices. Even familiar voices can trigger these types of waves,except that they are not accompanied by large-scale changes in brain activity related to sensory processing. The brain's responses to the unknown voice occurred less often as the night progressed and the voice became more familiar, indicating that the brain may still be able to learn during sleep. (HANDLE).