Study reveals why your brain might sleep without you knowing it

From bodyandsoul.com.au

The new research shows that even if your partner is snoring, they might actually be awake.

Individuals who suffer from insomnia often report that they were unable to get a good night’s sleep, despite the fact that they might have been snoring all night.
Now, a new study, published in the journal Sleep, validates their experience by examining the phenomenon of “sleep misperception” and has found a clear link between conscious awareness and sleeping patterns.
Researchers analysed the sleep patterns and experiences of 32 people with insomnia and 30 without the condition. Using polysomnography, a traditional sleep studying method, the scientists examined the brain waves of the participants by injecting a radioactive tracer in their arms while the participants were asleep.
They also took brain scans of the participants to determine where in the brain the activity occurred. The participants were then asked about their sleeping experience the following morning.
The results found that people with insomnia who reported they had been awake, even when the polysomnography showed otherwise, had increased activity in the areas of the brain associated with conscious awareness during the dreamless phase of sleep.
The study’s lead author Daniel Kay, a psychology professor at Brigham Young University in Provo, UT, explained that both insomnia sufferers and good sleepers can go through an inhibition process when they fall asleep, however those with insomnia may not feel as though they are asleep until their brain experiences a greater inhibitory activity in areas that are linked to conscious awareness.
He further suggested that practicing meditation may help relieve any impairment in inhibitory activity.

“In patients with insomnia, processes involved in reducing conscious awareness during sleep may be impaired…one of the strategies for targeting these processes may be mindfulness meditation,” explained Professor Kay.
“It may help patients inhibit cognitive processes that are preventing them from experiencing sleep.”

http://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/health/health-news/study-reveals-why-your-brain-might-sleep-without-you-knowing-it/news-story/5072ce50be5907dfd769a5fa0cfdf345