• Question: Why is the brain more active when your asleep from in the daytime and you dont even realise it?

    Asked by cazgav98 to Damien, Rachael, Suzi, Tim on 22 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Tim Fosker

      Tim Fosker answered on 22 Jun 2011:

      Hi @cazgav98

      I wouldn’t say the brain is more active when you’re asleep. Some parts of the brain are more active when you’re asleep than awake, but other parts are more active when you’re awake than asleep. Generally your brain activity is just different during sleep. A group of scientists in America published their results of an experiment in 2008 which showed that neuron activity important for learning is less active during sleep! This means it is probably best to revise for exams while you’re awake, rather than listening to a tape asleep! 🙂

    • Photo: Suzi Gage

      Suzi Gage answered on 22 Jun 2011:

      Hi @cazgav98

      I agree with Tim, it’s not that your brain is more active, it’s just active in a different way. There is a type of brain pattern called an alpha wave, which is quite common during sleep, so it looks like a lot of brain activation, but it’s just different activation to ‘awake’ brain patterns.

      Hope this helps!

Comments