The University of Copenhagen researchers found that small, temporary sleep disruptions may signal you've slept well. Their research is contrary to popular belief that good sleep should be interrupted.
Mice were found to have microarousals (short wakeups) many times a day, which are linked to memory consolidation. According to research published in Nature Neuroscience, if you are "awake" during one of these microarousals, you'll have better memory recall.
"Every time I wake up in the middle of the night now, I think – ah, nice, I probably just had great memory-boosting sleep," said study author Celia Kjaerby, PhD, an assistant professor at the university's Center for Translational Neuromedicine.
The study's findings give insight into what happens during sleep and may lead to new treatments for those with sleep disorders.
Impacts of noradrenaline
The take from this sentence is that research has shown noradrenaline, which increases during stressful periods but enhances focus, is inactive during sleep. However, new research has found the hormone in high levels in sleeping rats.
"I still remember seeing the first traces showing the brain activity of the norepinephrine stress system during sleep. We could not believe our eyes," Dr Kjaerby said. "Everyone had thought this part of the brain would be quiet, but we now know it controls the microarchitecture of sleep."
Noradrenaline levels rise and fall like waves every 30 seconds during non-REM (NREM) sleep. The brain is awake shortly at each "peak", and at each "valley", it is asleep. Typically these awakenings are not long enough to wake the sleeper up, but when the adrenaline levels rise, the sleeper becomes more likely to notice.
During the valleys, or when norepinephrine drops, so-called sleep spindles occur.
"These are short oscillatory bursts of brain activity linked to memory consolidation," Dr Kjaerby explained. A "deep valley" periodically lasts 3-5 minutes, leading to more sleep spindles. The researchers noted that the mice with the most deep valleys also had the best memories.
According to Dr Kjaerby, research has shown that sleep spindles help us recall recent experiences and not REM sleep.
Deep valleys in the night followed by more prolonged awakenings have been linked to memory improvement. Although restless sleep is not good, waking up briefly may be a natural part of memory-related sleep phases and may infer a better quality of rest.
Brain events happening during sleep
The findings also fit with previous clinical data that suggest we only sleep around 100 times per night, mostly during the deep and restful NREM stages 2. Dr Kjaerby said.
More research is needed to understand these small awakenings, said Dr Kjaerby. Maiken Nedergaard, MD, another author of this study, identified that a rinsing fluid system in the brain is responsible for removing waste products.
"It is a mystery why this fluid system is so active when we sleep," Dr Kjaerby said. "We believe these short awakenings could potentially be the key to answering this question."
Source: https://www.mdedge.com/neurology/article/256816/sleep-medicine/waking-night-could-be-your-brain-boosting-your-memory
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