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Researchers, most of them Dr. After reviewing past studies on sleep-deprived mice conducted by Veasey, they found that when the animals were kept awake for just a few hours more than normal each day, two important parts of the brain were markedly affected: the locus coeruleus, which governs feelings of alertness and arousal, and the locus coeruleus, which plays an important role in memory formation and learning. hippocampus. These regions, which are central to sustaining conscious experience in humans, have slowed the animals’ production of antioxidants, which protect neurons from unstable molecules that are constantly produced by functioning cells, such as exhaust fumes. When antioxidant levels are low, these molecules can build up and attack the brain from the inside, breaking down proteins, fats, and DNA.

Dr. “Vigilance in the brain is punishable, even under normal circumstances,” Fernandez said. “But when you stay awake for too long, the system gets overloaded. At some point, you can’t beat a dead horse. If you want your cells to stay 30 percent more active each day, the cells die.”

In the brains of mice, sleep deprivation led to cell death after several days of sleep restriction—a much lower threshold for brain damage than previously thought. It also causes inflammation in the prefrontal cortex and tau and amyloid Proteins in the locus coeruleus and hippocampus associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

After a full year of regular sleep, the formerly sleep-deprived mice still suffered from neural damage and encephalitis. Dr. According to Veasey and Mr Zamore, this suggested that the effects were long-lasting and perhaps permanent.

Still, many scientists said the new research shouldn’t cause panic. “It’s possible that sleep deprivation can damage rat and mouse brains, but that doesn’t mean you have to stress about not getting enough sleep,” said Jerome Siegel, MD, a sleep scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles. contribute to the review.

Dr. Siegel noted that neural damage occurs in degrees, and the extent of the effect of sleep deprivation on the human brain is still largely unknown. He also expressed concern that undue concern about the long-term effects of sleep deprivation could lead to people trying to get more sleep unnecessarily and with medication.