Often, the first night in a strange apartment or in a hotel room is anything else but restful. But, what’s the reason for sleeping worse in a new surrounding? American scientists have found an explanation.
Scientist Yuka Sasaki from Brown University, Providence, and her team proved in a study that even during deep sleep the left part of the brain stays more awake than the right one and therewith prevents restful sleep.
According to Sasaki it is known that marine animals and some birds have such a one-hemisphere-sleep in which one half of the brain remains awake and the other one sleeps. The human brain is not working as asymmetric like the one of marine animals, but it might be possible that the human brain is some kind of a miniature system of the whale- and dolphin-brain.
On the basis of electroencephalographies the scientists examined 35 participants in their first and in their eighth night in the sleep laboratory. Here, they noticed that during the first night the left brain hemisphere was easily to address in the normally restful deep-sleep-phase and therefore reacted sensibly to noises.
So far, the scientists were not able to determine why the left brain hemisphere is more awake than the right one. Up to now, only the first phase of deep sleep was examined. According to the scientists it might be possible that the hemispheres alternate in monitoring in the course of the night.
Dieter Riemann, sleep scientist of the University Clinic Freiburg, Germany, finds the findings of the study interesting. He believes that these findings might lead to treatment strategies of sleep disturbances.
To avoid a sleepless night in a new surrounding experts advice to always book similar hotels and to take your own pillow with you. It seems, that the brain of frequent travelers already accustomed to the changes and that they are able to turn-off their watching position.
According to Sasaki, the human brain is very flexible. Now, they are trying to turn-off the “awake” part of the brain with a certain method and to examine whether this improves quality of sleep.
To be able to enjoy your holidays during the night as well we advise special Sleep-Healthy-Hotels furnished with SAMINA Power Sleeping Rooms®.
Image Source: ©Hotel Post, Bezau
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