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Future Scientific Research into Sleep
Most of what we know about the biology of sleep has been discovered
only in the last 50 years. Sleep remains largely a mystery despite
the enormous amount that researchers have learned in recent decades.
There is still no accepted reason for why humans developed the need
to sleep.
Doctors have turned their attentions in clinical practice related
to sleep disorders, but scientific research is not keeping pace. For
instance, little is known about the neurobiology of both insomnia
and restless legs syndrome despite the fact that millions suffer from
them. Continuous Positive Airway Pressure machines have made a huge
difference in the lives of many sleep apnea patients, yet they are
still fairly intrusive and not universally accepted by patients.
From the National
Sleep Disorders Research Plan
We are now beginning to understand the impact of chronic sleep
loss or sleeping at adverse circadian times on our ability to function
optimally and on our physical and mental health. How sleep loss,
sleep displacement (e.g., shift work, jet lag), and a wide range
of sleep disorders affect one's ability to maintain health and healthy
functioning in this 24/7 world, however, remains relatively poorly
understood. Thus, despite the scientific progress made since 1996
in both clinical and basic science related to sleep and its disorders,
there remains the challenge and the need to discover the functions
of sleep, to understand and develop better treatments for the many
disorders affecting sleep, and to explain the nature of human physiology
during wakefulness and the individual stages of sleep. Without progress
in these areas, countless millions will continue to suffer the consequences
of dysfunction and abuse of this most basic regulatory process.
From the National
Institutes of Health:
Sleep research is expanding and attracting more and more attention
from scientists. Researchers now know that sleep is an active and
dynamic state that greatly influences our waking hours, and they
realize that we must understand sleep to fully understand the brain.
Innovative techniques, such as brain imaging, can now help researchers
understand how different brain regions function during sleep and
how different activities and disorders affect sleep. Understanding
the factors that affect sleep in health and disease also may lead
to revolutionary new therapies for sleep disorders and to ways of
overcoming jet lag and the problems associated with shift work.
We can expect these and many other benefits from research that will
allow us to truly understand sleep’s impact on our lives.
Scientists are looking at
- sleep deprivation
- molecular and cellular basis of sleep
- sleep disorders
- circadian rhythms
More on needed sleep research.
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