8. functions of sleep 1

Question 1

do plants sleep?

Answer 1

We define sleep as a nervous system activity. So we don’t know if plants sleep. We don’t have a definition of sleep that doesn’t include a neuronal-glial network.

Question 2

Sleep as we define it does seem to exist in all organisms that have a nervous system.

Answer 2

yes.

Question 3

what is unihemispheric sleep

Answer 3

one hemisphere (half) of the brain remains active while the other half rests. This allows an animal to remain partially alert to its surroundings while still getting rest.

Question 4

functions of sleep: host defense theory of sleep

Answer 4

sleep plays a crucial role in the body’s immune system and overall defense mechanisms. According to this theory, sleep helps strengthen the immune response and enhances the body’s ability to fight infections, inflammation, and other immune challenges.

kinda the idea that
- more sleep = more immune system cells and
- less sleep = fewer immune system cells

Question 5

functions of sleep: conservation / restoration of energy

Answer 5

one of the primary functions of sleep is to conserve and restore energy resources for the body and brain. Sleep serves as a period of reduced metabolic activity, allowing for more efficient energy management and recovery from daily exertion.

Question 6

caloric conservation: short sleep is associated with

Answer 6

risk of diabetes, obesity, cravings for carbs.

Question 7

functions of sleep: glymphatic function

Answer 7

waste clearance system in the brain that is highly active during sleep. This system helps remove toxic byproducts that accumulate in the brain during wakefulness, playing a crucial role in maintaining brain health.

Question 8

functions of sleep: connectivity/plasticity

Answer 8

one of sleep’s primary functions is to support brain plasticity—the brain’s ability to reorganize and form new connections. This theory emphasizes how sleep helps strengthen, modify, or weaken neural connections based on experiences during wakefulness, allowing for learning, memory consolidation, and overall cognitive functioning.

Question 9

3 main premisses of the synaptic homeostasis hypothesis

Answer 9

1. New leaning happens by synaptic potentiation.
2. Synaptic potentiation has to happen during wake. So that what your brain learns is controlled by reality and not by fantasy.
3. Renormalization should happen during sleep, renormalizing synaptic strength depending on what happened during the day.

Question 10

benefits of desaturation when weaken synaptic connection

Answer 10

regain extracellular space: vigilance, cognition, learning, and memory consolidation and integration.

Question 11

functions of sleep: restoration of performance

Answer 11

sleep plays a vital role in restoring cognitive, physical, and emotional functions, allowing the brain and body to perform at optimal levels during waking hours

memory, reflexes, attention, mood, emotional reactivity,