• Education
    • Higher Education
    • Scholarships & Grants
    • Online Learning
    • School Reforms
    • Research & Innovation
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Fashion & Beauty
    • Home & Living
    • Relationships & Family
  • Technology & Startups
    • Software & Apps
    • Startup Success Stories
    • Startups & Innovations
    • Tech Regulations
    • Venture Capital
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cybersecurity
    • Emerging Technologies
    • Gadgets & Devices
    • Industry Analysis
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy & Policy
Today Headline
  • Home
  • World News
    • Us & Canada
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • Middle East
  • Politics
    • Elections
    • Political Parties
    • Government Policies
    • International Relations
    • Legislative News
  • Business & Finance
    • Market Trends
    • Stock Market
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Corporate News
    • Economic Policies
  • Science & Environment
    • Space Exploration
    • Climate Change
    • Wildlife & Conservation
    • Environmental Policies
    • Medical Research
  • Health
    • Public Health
    • Mental Health
    • Medical Breakthroughs
    • Fitness & Nutrition
    • Pandemic Updates
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Basketball
    • Tennis
    • Olympics
    • Motorsport
  • Entertainment
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV & Streaming
    • Celebrity News
    • Awards & Festivals
  • Crime & Justice
    • Court Cases
    • Cybercrime
    • Policing
    • Criminal Investigations
    • Legal Reforms
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • World News
    • Us & Canada
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • Middle East
  • Politics
    • Elections
    • Political Parties
    • Government Policies
    • International Relations
    • Legislative News
  • Business & Finance
    • Market Trends
    • Stock Market
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Corporate News
    • Economic Policies
  • Science & Environment
    • Space Exploration
    • Climate Change
    • Wildlife & Conservation
    • Environmental Policies
    • Medical Research
  • Health
    • Public Health
    • Mental Health
    • Medical Breakthroughs
    • Fitness & Nutrition
    • Pandemic Updates
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Basketball
    • Tennis
    • Olympics
    • Motorsport
  • Entertainment
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV & Streaming
    • Celebrity News
    • Awards & Festivals
  • Crime & Justice
    • Court Cases
    • Cybercrime
    • Policing
    • Criminal Investigations
    • Legal Reforms
No Result
View All Result
Today Headline
No Result
View All Result
Home Science & Environment

‘Artificial Nap’ Could Provide Benefits of Sleep—Without Sleeping todayheadline

March 26, 2025
in Science & Environment
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A A
0
Cartoon illustration of a monkey with large ears
2
SHARES
4
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


‘Artificial Nap’ Could Provide Benefits of Sleep—Without Sleeping

Desynchronizing monkeys’ brain with electricity caused a performance boost

By Simon Makin edited by Sarah Lewin Frasier

What if we could obtain the memory, learning and perception benefits of “power naps” without actually sleeping?

A recent study in Science suggests that at least some of our primate cousins can. Researchers showed that brief naps (without rapid eye movement, or REM, sleep) improved macaques’ performance on a visual-perception task. The scientists then reproduced this boost by electrically stimulating the brains of awake monkeys in a way that mimicked sleeping brain activity—inducing a kind of “artificial nap.” The process, if effective in humans, might one day help boost cognition and treat sleep disorders.

The team first trained five monkeys on a task evaluating image orientations and tested them twice, with a 30-minute gap in which they either had non-REM sleep or merely rested. The monkeys that slept performed significantly better on the second test. The researchers recorded thousands of neurons’ activity in three brain regions: two visual areas and one associated with decision-making. In the monkeys that slept between tests, this activity was, oddly, less synchronized during the second task than the first.


On supporting science journalism

If you’re enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.


“Sleep is a synchronizing phenomenon in which neurons go up and down together, but the level of synchrony after sleep is reduced compared with before,” says the study’s senior author, Valentin Dragoi, a systems neuroscientist at Rice University. “This is surprising.” The size of this “desynchronizing” effect correlated with performance increases, suggesting that neurons firing more independently of one another may drive the improvement.

Low-frequency “delta” brain waves are known to be involved in memory maintenance. These waves dominated the monkeys’ sleeping brain activity, and the team wondered whether they were behind the performance boost. To test it, the researchers conducted the experiment again—but instead of letting the monkeys sleep, they stimulated a visual brain region using a low-frequency electrical signal that mimicked delta waves. This stimulation also led to both reduced neural synchrony and better performance.

These findings imply that brain stimulation could deliver some of the benefits of naps without sleep. The results in primates strongly suggest “artificial nap” effects will translate to humans, says Sara Mednick, a neuroscientist at the University of California, Irvine, who studies the relation between napping and performance; evidence already exists that electrical stimulation during sleep can benefit humans’ memory. “This work demonstrates that stimulating [when awake] at the delta frequency can mimic sleep benefits,” Mednick says.

The researchers used electrodes placed in the monkeys’ brains for stimulation, but they plan to test noninvasive techniques in people with sleep disorders “in the near future,” Dragoi says. They also plan to study other senses, cognitive functions and brain regions, he adds. “Are different areas most effective for particular tasks? No one knows.”

Previous Post

The new moon of March 2025 creates a partial solar eclipse this weekend

Next Post

Russia hands long prison terms to Ukrainian 'Azov' fighters who defended Mariupol todayheadline

Related Posts

Doctors Deliver Verdict on TikTok's 'Mouth Taping' Trend : ScienceAlert

Doctors Deliver Verdict on TikTok’s ‘Mouth Taping’ Trend : ScienceAlert todayheadline

June 1, 2025
0
aurora forecast for tonight shows the possible aurora view line and 23 states lying above it, with a possibility of seeing the northern lights tonight.

Northern lights may be visible in these 23 US States tonight

June 1, 2025
1
Next Post
Russia hands long prison terms to Ukrainian 'Azov' fighters who defended Mariupol

Russia hands long prison terms to Ukrainian 'Azov' fighters who defended Mariupol todayheadline

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Family calls for change after B.C. nurse dies by suicide after attacks on the job

Family calls for change after B.C. nurse dies by suicide after attacks on the job

April 2, 2025
Pioneering 3D printing project shares successes

Product reduces TPH levels to non-hazardous status

November 27, 2024

Hospital Mergers Fail to Deliver Better Care or Lower Costs, Study Finds todayheadline

December 31, 2024

Police ID man who died after Corso Italia fight

December 23, 2024
Harris tells supporters 'never give up' and urges peaceful transfer of power

Harris tells supporters ‘never give up’ and urges peaceful transfer of power

0
Des Moines Man Accused Of Shooting Ex-Girlfriend's Mother

Des Moines Man Accused Of Shooting Ex-Girlfriend’s Mother

0

Trump ‘looks forward’ to White House meeting with Biden

0
Catholic voters were critical to Donald Trump’s blowout victory: ‘Harris snubbed us’

Catholic voters were critical to Donald Trump’s blowout victory: ‘Harris snubbed us’

0
Doctors Deliver Verdict on TikTok's 'Mouth Taping' Trend : ScienceAlert

Doctors Deliver Verdict on TikTok’s ‘Mouth Taping’ Trend : ScienceAlert todayheadline

June 1, 2025
aurora forecast for tonight shows the possible aurora view line and 23 states lying above it, with a possibility of seeing the northern lights tonight.

Northern lights may be visible in these 23 US States tonight

June 1, 2025
Research illuminates growing extinction threat for southern resident orcas

Will flooding force Seattle’s South Park residents to leave?

June 1, 2025
Catholic students find refuge at Princeton University's worship space and cheer new pope

Catholic students find refuge at Princeton University’s worship space and cheer new pope

June 1, 2025

Recent News

Doctors Deliver Verdict on TikTok's 'Mouth Taping' Trend : ScienceAlert

Doctors Deliver Verdict on TikTok’s ‘Mouth Taping’ Trend : ScienceAlert todayheadline

June 1, 2025
0
aurora forecast for tonight shows the possible aurora view line and 23 states lying above it, with a possibility of seeing the northern lights tonight.

Northern lights may be visible in these 23 US States tonight

June 1, 2025
1
Research illuminates growing extinction threat for southern resident orcas

Will flooding force Seattle’s South Park residents to leave?

June 1, 2025
0
Catholic students find refuge at Princeton University's worship space and cheer new pope

Catholic students find refuge at Princeton University’s worship space and cheer new pope

June 1, 2025
2

TodayHeadline is a dynamic news website dedicated to delivering up-to-date and comprehensive news coverage from around the globe.

Follow Us

Browse by Category

  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Basketball
  • Business & Finance
  • Climate Change
  • Crime & Justice
  • Cybersecurity
  • Economic Policies
  • Elections
  • Entertainment
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Environmental Policies
  • Europe
  • Football
  • Gadgets & Devices
  • Health
  • Medical Research
  • Mental Health
  • Middle East
  • Motorsport
  • Olympics
  • Politics
  • Public Health
  • Relationships & Family
  • Science & Environment
  • Software & Apps
  • Space Exploration
  • Sports
  • Stock Market
  • Technology & Startups
  • Tennis
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Us & Canada
  • Wildlife & Conservation
  • World News

Recent News

Doctors Deliver Verdict on TikTok's 'Mouth Taping' Trend : ScienceAlert

Doctors Deliver Verdict on TikTok’s ‘Mouth Taping’ Trend : ScienceAlert todayheadline

June 1, 2025
aurora forecast for tonight shows the possible aurora view line and 23 states lying above it, with a possibility of seeing the northern lights tonight.

Northern lights may be visible in these 23 US States tonight

June 1, 2025
  • Education
  • Lifestyle
  • Technology & Startups
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy & Policy

© 2024 Todayheadline.co

Welcome Back!

OR

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Business & Finance
  • Corporate News
  • Economic Policies
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Market Trends
  • Crime & Justice
  • Court Cases
  • Criminal Investigations
  • Cybercrime
  • Legal Reforms
  • Policing
  • Education
  • Higher Education
  • Online Learning
  • Entertainment
  • Awards & Festivals
  • Celebrity News
  • Movies
  • Music
  • Health
  • Fitness & Nutrition
  • Medical Breakthroughs
  • Mental Health
  • Pandemic Updates
  • Lifestyle
  • Fashion & Beauty
  • Food & Drink
  • Home & Living
  • Politics
  • Elections
  • Government Policies
  • International Relations
  • Legislative News
  • Political Parties
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Middle East
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Cybersecurity
  • Emerging Technologies
  • Gadgets & Devices
  • Industry Analysis
  • Basketball
  • Football
  • Motorsport
  • Olympics
  • Climate Change
  • Environmental Policies
  • Medical Research
  • Science & Environment
  • Space Exploration
  • Wildlife & Conservation
  • Sports
  • Tennis
  • Technology & Startups
  • Software & Apps
  • Startup Success Stories
  • Startups & Innovations
  • Tech Regulations
  • Venture Capital
  • Uncategorized
  • World News
  • Us & Canada
  • Public Health
  • Relationships & Family
  • Travel
  • Research & Innovation
  • Scholarships & Grants
  • School Reforms
  • Stock Market
  • TV & Streaming
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy & Policy
  • About us
  • Contact

© 2024 Todayheadline.co