By The fascinating fact you should know regarding what happens when you sleep
I get frustrated when waking up in the middle of the night.
I think I had enough of those moments growing up with my now 16-year-old daughter!
You may have been having a wonderful dream or finally enjoying good quality sleep when that wakeful moment suddenly happens for no apparent reason.
We all believe that the best night’s sleep is one where no stages of wakefulness occur because cortisol might take over in the morning and lead us towards a more tiring and frustrating day ahead.
I found it very surprising that a stress transmitter called Noradrenaline can cause us to wake up several times a night.
The good news is that this is quite normal and a big indicator that you slept well!
Well, I’ll be dammed!
Noradrenaline is related to stress hormones that stem from the body’s fight or flight response. During stress, adrenaline can increase — which helps us stay focused.
Noradrenaline causes you and I to wake up between 1–100 + times per night, which occurs during perfectly normal sleep.
Although it causes the brain to wake up at night, we are not officially awake.
This may seem more like a ‘brain activation mechanism.’ However, it’s so brief that we may not even be aware of it occurring.
What happens during this time
Mice studies uncovered these findings, but the mechanisms are also apparent in humans.
Sleep is essential for wellbeing, and being well rested daily helps us remember what we learned the day before.
Waves of Noradrenaline drive refreshing sleep. These Noradrenaline waves create these very short instances of wakefulness.
It is also a very important part of memory.
It’s not all that bad
Think of sleep this way: Waking up at night is more annoying than bad for your health.
Studies show that short-term wakefulness is a natural phase for resetting memory.
Mice that did this developed ‘super memory.’
In my book, there is no harm in having any form of a super-brain tendency! On the contrary, it would help me in my University Studies right now!
Think of these small wakes as a ‘resetting’ of the brain before returning to storing memory and returning to sleep.
Key takeaways
Sleep is essential for everyone -as it helps to remove waste products and prevent Alzheimer’s.
Sleeping well also improves memory.
Mice in this study who had the highest number of deep noradrenaline valleys were the ones who had the best memories!
So, we’ve been taught to stress out when we wake up at night — but that’s no big issue anymore.
Have you found these instances during your sleep?
Please note: This research is only accessible via institute or through subscription.
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