Most people have experienced zoning out after a poor night’s sleep. You stare at the screen and lose your train of thought.
Until now, the explanation has often been that the brain is simply too tired.
However, a new study suggests that something more active is happening in the brain when attention fails.
Cleaning the brain
Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have examined what happens in the brains of people who are sleep-deprived.
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The researchers explain that attention does not decline at random. In the moments when focus disappears, the brain initiates a process that normally only takes place during sleep.
This involves cerebrospinal fluid, which helps clean the brain of waste products.
This cleaning process is important for brain function, but it normally occurs only when we are asleep.
How the study was conducted
In the experiment published in Nature Neuroscience, 26 participants took part and were tested both when well rested and after a night without sleep.
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The participants were asked to complete simple attention tasks while researchers measured brain activity, heart rate, breathing, and the movement of fluid in the brain.
When participants missed signals, the researchers observed that fluid moved out of the brain. At the same time, heart rate and breathing slowed.
When attention returned, the body returned to normal.
What it means
According to the MIT researchers, the brain attempts to compensate for a lack of sleep by cleaning itself, even while a person is awake.
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The problem is that this process comes at the expense of concentration.
This may explain why people suddenly lose focus, even when they are trying to stay awake.
The study also raises questions about how long the brain can withstand this strain without proper sleep.
Sources: Science Daily, and Nature Neuroscience.
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