It seems like gulping cups of coffee during exams to stay awake may soon be outdated. All those sleepy souls may be free from the almost ritualistic drinking of coffee [or tea], smoking cigarettes one after the other, all of it for one purpose — keeping sleep at bay and being able to slough hard. A team of US scientists have found a chemical, which promises the same effect on our body that a good sound sleep provides.
A nasal spray of a hormone found in brain — Orexin A — has been found to have reversed the symptoms of sleep-deprived monkeys, allowing them to behave like those who had been given adequate rest. The discovery is believed to be very useful in treating excessive sleep disorder or narcolepsy.
Unlike the addictive stimulants, found to have several side effects along with increasing arousal, the new treatment is said to be harmless. Jerome Siegel, a professor of psychiatry at University of California, Los Angeles, and one of the four scientists who made the discovery said,
(The treatment is) a totally new route for increasing arousal, and the new study shows it to be relatively benign. It reduces sleepiness without causing edginess.
Generally, an eight-hour sleep is recommended, but given the fast-pace life, most people have to do with less than eight hours of sleep. This causes several problems for people. Also, there are some professions, which demand long hours of work, depriving people from rest. Those involved in professions that require one to work during nights is equally tiring.
The new discovery can surely help face such situations. The treatment may also be a substitute for amphetamines administered to pilots for being alert during long-haul flights. But can the “sleep drug” replace the need for sleep? The scientists do not have an answer to it as yet.
Image: www.journalism.ryerson.ca
Source: Wired
