Researchers have discovered the brain pathways involved in 'sleep preparatory behaviour' in mice, which is likely to also apply to humans.
The team, led by Imperial College London researchers, uncovered the wiring in mouse brains that leads them to begin nesting in preparation for sleep. Published today in Nature Neuroscience, the study reveals that preparing properly for sleep is likely a hard-wired survival feature - one often neglected or overridden by humans.
Although it seems to us humans that we have a conscious control of the process of going to bed, it is very likely that the same wiring exists in the human brain as the mouse brain. So, even if we think we are making a choice, we are probably governed by unconscious urges to prepare for bed as mice are." Professor Bill Wisden, Chair in Molecular Neuroscience at Imperial, added: "Getting a good night's sleep is vital for health.
They discovered that sleep preparatory behavior is wired up in the top of the brain, in a region called the prefrontal cortex. In humans and mice, the prefrontal cortex helps in rational planning, or 'executive control', which is often essential for survival.
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