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The secret to getting a good night’s sleep may lie in picking up good vibes – at least it does if you’re a fly, a study concluded.
US researchers have found that flies sleep longer if you vibrate gently to sleep – and wake up feeling more alert later – and the same could apply to humans.
Additionally, flies slept to vibration more readily with repeated exposure, suggesting that they gradually learned to relax when subjected to the movements.
The findings could help explain the common practice of rocking babies to sleep, along with why car travel can make people sleepy.
The secret to getting a good night’s sleep may lie in picking up good vibes, at least if you’re a fly, a study concluded. In the photo, a woman puts a baby to sleep
“Babies like to be lulled to sleep,” said article author and neuroscientist Kyunghee Koh of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.
“But the neural mechanisms behind this well-known phenomenon remain largely a mystery,” he added.
In their study, Professor Koh and colleagues found that when subjected to vibrations, fruit flies stayed asleep longer.
Flies have also been found to respond less to the types of light pulses that would normally wake them quite readily, but, once awakened, they turned out to be more active later thanks to the “ sleep credit ” they had accumulated.
In other words, the team explained, the flies behaved as if they slept more than necessary during the vibration, allowing them to function better.
‘We wanted to establish the fruit fly as a model system for studying sleep induction mechanisms by mechanical stimulation,’ said Professor Koh.
The finding suggests that vibration-induced sleep – as might be experienced in a rocking crib or moving car – is similar to regular sleep in a bed and, at least in the case of flies, helps perform some of the vital functions. rest.
The amount of extra sleep each of the flies got depended on their genetic background, along with the amplitude and frequency of the vibrations applied, the researchers found. Plus, more sensory organs are involved, they said.
When the vibration was first applied to the insects, they became more active than usual, but then the movement gradually put them to sleep.
The team also noted that the flies fell asleep more readily when they were repeatedly exposed to vibrations, suggesting a habituation process, a simple form of learning, worked.
Rock-a-fly-baby? US researchers have found that flies sleep longer when gently vibrated to sleep – and wake up feeling more alert later – and the same could apply to humans.
‘Flies learn over time that the vibration is not threatening, which reduces their reaction to stimulation that would otherwise put them on alert,’ explained Professor Koh.
This suppression of alertness is necessary for vibration-induced sleep, the team said.
In contrast, the researchers found that mutant flies with increased dopamine levels, which make them more lively, do not fall asleep when they vibrate.
It is unclear whether similar mechanisms are at work in humans, however, the brains of flies and humans are fundamentally similar in how they form and function.
Brits are among the most sleep-deprived people in the world, with nearly two out of three saying they don’t have enough eyes closed.
‘Further investigation could help us develop and optimize sensory stimulation as a sleep aid for humans,’ said Professor Koh.
“Our results suggest that it would be worth customizing the stimulus parameters for each individual over several sessions.”
With their initial study completed, however, the researchers’ initial goals are to learn more about the underlying neural mechanisms, using the fruit fly as a model system.
They plan to identify specific neurons in the fly’s brain that are involved in the vibration-assisted sleep process.
Teak also wants to determine if vibration-induced sleep works like normal sleep with regards to increasing memory and longevity.
Sleeping less than six hours a night has been found to increase the risk of premature death by 12%.
Poor sleep has been linked to a number of serious medical conditions including obesity, heart disease and diabetes.
Full study results were published in Cell Reports.
POOR SLEEP IS DRIVING THE CRISIS OF CHILDHOOD OBESITY, STUDY SHOWS
Pediatricians warn that sleep is the ignored culprit driving childhood obesity, as a new study shows a direct link between closing eyes and weight gain.
Experts also warn that just a few nights of poor sleep puts children at greater risk of developing obesity-related cancers such as liver and ovarian cancer.
Lack of eye and a bad night’s sleep have been linked to food cravings and a larger life
The childhood obesity rate in the United States has more than tripled since the 1970s, with one in five children obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Research shows that poor sleep causes children to eat more and affects their metabolism.
The National Sleep Foundation recommends 9 to 11 hours of sleep for children ages 6 to 13, 8 to 10 hours for teens, and 7 to 9 hours of sleep for people 18 and older.
For the study, researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University’s Massey Cancer Center monitored the sleep-wake cycle of 120 children between the ages of 6 and 19 for at least five days.
“Childhood obesity very often leads to adult obesity,” said study lead author Dr. Bernard Fuemmeler. “This puts them at a greater risk of developing obesity-related cancers in adulthood.”
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