If we toss and turn for a long time and cannot fall asleep due to a leapfrog of intrusive thoughts, it is to blame … the prefrontal cortex of our brain. It is she who does not let us relax, because she is responsible for controlling our actions, planning them, as well as for logical thinking.
If we toss and turn for a long time and cannot fall asleep due to a leapfrog of intrusive thoughts, it is to blame … the prefrontal cortex of our brain. It is she who does not let us relax, because she is responsible for controlling our actions, planning them, as well as for logical thinking. It turns out that its excessive activity raises the temperature of the brain — to the point at which the nervous system simply cannot go into sleep mode. Having found this out with the help of experiments, scientists from the Medical School of the University of Pittsburgh (USA) made a simple conclusion: in order to cope with insomnia, it is enough for the brain … to cool down in the literal sense of the word! * And they even developed a special design: a hat is put on the head, through the tubes of which cold water circulates. True, it is not clear which of us will be able to fall asleep in such a useful headdress.
* From talks at the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS) annual conference ≪SLEEP 2011≫, June