It has been revealed that a single sleepless night is able to rewire our brains for days. Check out the latest reports about the matter below.
Sleepless nights and their effects on the body
It’s common to have stayed up for a full night at some point in our lives, either to prepare for an exam or due to a long-distance journey. However, according to scientists, just one sleepless night can restructure our brains for several days.
People who have stayed up all night, also known as “all-nighters,” may be aware of a feeling of euphoria, silliness, or overstimulation, despite feeling completely exhausted.
A recent study published in Neuron by Neurobiologists at Northwestern University suggests that this is a consequence of sleep deprivation actively rewiring the brain.
A group of scientists conducted a study on mice who had experienced mild sleep deprivation and analyzed how it affected their bodies.
The research revealed that more dopamine was released during all-nighters, and there was an increase in synaptic plasticity.
Strangely enough, these effects are similar to what happens in the brain when antidepressants are taken.
Yevgenia Kozorovitskiy, an associate professor of neurobiology at Northwestern and the corresponding author of the paper, explained that neural rewiring, caused by a specific stimulus like brief sleep loss, can trigger a cascade of neuronal changes that last beyond the immediate phase.
Staying up all night, or pulling an “all-nighter”, is a common practice among many people. Despite feeling physically exhausted, a person may experience a wired, giddy, and slap-happy feeling.
Sleep deprivation rewires the brain
According to a new study published in Neuron, this feeling is a result of sleep deprivation actively rewiring the brain. Neurobiologists at Northwestern University conducted the study on mice to understand the effects of mild sleep deprivation on the body.
They found that all-nighters caused an increase in the release of dopamine and synaptic plasticity in the brain. Strangely enough, these effects are similar to what antidepressants do to the brain.
“We expect that neural rewiring—provoked by a specific stimulus like brief sleep loss—can initiate a cascade of neuronal changes that outlast the immediate phase,” Yevgenia Kozorovitskiy, an associate professor of neurobiology at Northwestern and corresponding author of the paper told Newsweek.
“For example, dopamine increase during brief loss can enhance neuroplasticity, and a subset of those new connections between neurons could persist. At the level of effects on mood, clinical studies show that interventions to circadian rhythms (or chronotherapies) can substantially enhance mood for a matter of days to weeks.”
