The consequences of a sleepless night spent driving, reading books or at the crib are well known to everyone: nervous excitement (or apathy), anger and irritation at any reason, difficulty in analyzing the situation. Scientists from Harvard and Berkeley Universities (USA) found that the amygdala, the emotional center of the brain, loses its activity with a lack of sleep, as well as the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in cognitive processes and controls emotions.
The consequences of a sleepless night spent driving, reading books or at the crib are well known to everyone: nervous excitement (or apathy), anger and irritation at any reason, difficulty in analyzing the situation. Scientists from Harvard and Berkeley Universities (USA) found that the amygdala, the emotional center of the brain, loses its activity with a lack of sleep, as well as the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in cognitive processes and controls emotions. The participants of the experiment were shown neutral and shocking photographs and at that moment the activity of the work of different parts of the brain was measured.
In those who had not slept for 35 hours, the blood flow in the amygdala and prefrontal cortex in response to the shocking photos became 60% more intense than those who had slept. What caused the inadequate emotional reaction. Fortunately, lost hours of sleep can and should be replenished, because only sleep seems to be able to restore the chain of emotional activity of the brain and our mental stability.