16 replies to this topic

[doug123]

BBC News: Source




Missing out on rest could harm brain cell production

No sleep means no new brain cells

Missing out on sleep may cause the brain to stop producing new cells, a study has suggested.

The work on rats, by a team from Princeton University found a lack of sleep affected the hippocampus, a brain region involved in forming memories.

The research in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science showed a stress hormone causes the effect.

A UK expert said it would be interesting to see if too little rather than no sleep had the same consequence.

Deficits

The researchers compared animals who were deprived of sleep for 72 hours with others who were not.

They found those who missed out on rest had higher levels of the stress hormone corticosterone.
It would be interesting to see if partial sleep deprivation - getting a little bit less sleep every night that you need - had the same effect
Dr Neil Stanley, sleep expert 

They also produced significantly fewer new brain cells in a particular region of the hippocampus.

When the animals' corticosterone levels were kept at a constant level, the reduction in cell proliferation was abolished.

The results suggest that elevated stress hormone levels resulting from sleep deprivation could explain the reduction in cell production in the adult brain.

Sleep patterns were restored to normal within a week.

However levels of nerve cell production (neurogenesis) were not restored for two weeks, and the brain appears to boost its efforts in order to counteract the shortage.

Writing in PNAS, the researchers led by Dr Elizabeth Gould, said that although the role of nerve cell production in adults remained unknown, "the suppression of adult neurogenesis may underlie some of the cognitive deficits associated with prolonged sleep deprivation."

People who experience a lack of sleep experience concentration problems and other difficulties.

Sleep expert Dr Neil Stanley, based at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, said the study's findings could not be directly translated to humans because people did not go without sleep for 72 hours, unless they were in extreme circumstances.

But he added: "It is an interesting finding. It would be interesting to see if partial sleep deprivation - getting a little bit less sleep every night that you need - had the same effect."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.u...lth/6347043.stm

Published: 2007/02/10 00:02:15 GMT

© BBC MMVII

[ikaros]

No overwork for me anymore!

[garethnelsonuk]

A good excuse for daytime napping!

[garethnelsonuk]

A thought - could certain adaptogenics that lower cortisol levels reduce the effects of sleep deprivation? Standard panax ginseng appears to lower cortisol, is this of any use?

[medievil]

hmm, weird, sleep deprivation also seems to have an antidepressant effect

[ikaros]

hmm, weird, sleep deprivation also seems to have an antidepressant effect

Antidepressant doesn't necessarily mean neurogenesis.

[Shepard]

hmm, weird, sleep deprivation also seems to have an antidepressant effect

Yeah, high cortisol isn't all that terrible a feeling some times.

[basho]

However levels of nerve cell production (neurogenesis) were not restored for two weeks, and the brain appears to boost its efforts in order to counteract the shortage.

I wonder if short bursts of stress could be used to magnify the neurogenesis boosting effect?

[garethnelsonuk]

hmm, weird, sleep deprivation also seems to have an antidepressant effect

Yeah, high cortisol isn't all that terrible a feeling some times.

Is it not possible that the cortisol isn't kicking in for quite a few hours? When i've been sleep deprived I feel great until a few hours into the day (around noon normally).

[medievil]

anywhay, i beleive a few nootropics to induce neurogenesis and some adaptogens should be used if your sleep deprived

any ppl wonna test it out?

[Shepard]

Is it not possible that the cortisol isn't kicking in for quite a few hours? When i've been sleep deprived I feel great until a few hours into the day (around noon normally).

What level of sleep deprivation are we talking about?

[garethnelsonuk]

after an all-nighter

[Shepard]

Cortisol naturally begins rising around dawnish and peaks a little while before noon. It's doubtful that skipping one night of sleep will shift the time this occurs, but could change the amount of cortisol released.

[graatch]

> hmm, weird, sleep deprivation also seems to have an antidepressant effect

not with extended use it sure doesn't. I really don't know why it's such a goddamn revelation to journalists (oh yea, science journalists are idiots) and apparently a few scientists now doing research studies? Terribly overreported and just plain taken out of context, yknow?

[medievil]

"not with extended use it sure doesn't."

seen anecdotal reports of ppl not sleeping for one night and getting an antidepressant effect for 2 weeks

[graatch]

>anecdotal reports

"Anecdotal reports"...??

Good, consistent sleep is absolutely necessary to improving depression/ADD symptoms ... perhaps partially by calming the unstable peaks of norepinephrine/cortisol that sleep deprivation produces. Mm, just listen to what Shepard said.

[garethnelsonuk]

Cortisol naturally begins rising around dawnish and peaks a little while before noon. It's doubtful that skipping one night of sleep will shift the time this occurs, but could change the amount of cortisol released.

It's quite likely that what i'm feeling the few times i've done this is the peak at around noon. Sleep deprivation does most certainly have a temporary antidepressant effect from personal experience and from other anecdotal reports. I'm unaware of any formal studies into this though but there most certainly are some somewhere.