Hey there! Welcome to Life Noggin! Sleeping is one of the most important activities
that we do each day. Beyond keeping us mentally and physically healthy, scientists believe
that it also plays a role in brain function. But sleep isn’t the passive
activity we may all think it is. Our brains can actually be pretty active during
this time, letting us do some surprising things. Some of these activities are known
as parasomnias or sleep disorders. One of the most common is sleepwalking. This most often occurs in childhood,
affecting as many as 17% of kids, but can also happen in adulthood. One study found that
the lifetime prevalence of sleepwalking is 30%.
It can be triggered by a lack of sleep,
stress, or certain types of medications. Episodes occur during the deep slow wave
sleep stage, when we are deeply asleep and hard to wake. During an episode,
parts of the brain are in this stage, which is why sleepwalkers typically don’t
remember what happened in the morning. But at the same time, other parts of the brain
are awake, allowing them to perform complex tasks. And despite the name, the term sleepwalking
actually includes a lot of different activities. From just sitting up and looking around, to
getting dressed, and even driving., yeah. Some people will even eat while they’re
asleep. This is a sub-type of sleepwalking called a sleep-related eating disorder.
It mostly affects young adults who are either taking certain medication
or have other sleep disorders. And it can be dangerous. Over 65% of people
who suffer from it eat inedible and possibly dangerous items, like frozen pizza,
coffee grounds, or cleaning supplies., In other sleep disorders, people
can speak, act out their dreams, and even text–though there hasn’t
been much research on that one yet.
But parasomnias aren’t the only way people can interact with the waking
world while they’re asleep. A few small studies have found that people can
respond to questions while they’re sleeping, though not by talking., Depending on
the study, some responses were measured through brain activity, while others had their
participants make certain facial movements. In one series of tests, 36 participants
were asked a question while they were having a lucid dream–which means that
they knew that they were dreaming while still asleep in the dream. Depending on the
test, participants were asked things like simple math questions or yes or no questions
and responded by moving their eyes or face. Altogether, the tests found
that, out of 158 total trials, 29 or 18.4% resulted in a correct response,
while 60.8% got no response at all. While, so far, the research on this
is limited, it does make you wonder what else you can do while unconscious.
We should make more videos on sleep. You guys really like sleep
videos.
Okay, I'll get on that! “Try the new Honey Nut Blocko
O’s. Bad name, great taste” Thanks for watching and don’t forget to click
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