How does the sleeping brain retain the intentions of a person’s conscious self (like not moving all or part of the body, or waking at a very specific time) and then actually carry them out?

509 views

How does the sleeping brain retain the intentions of a person’s conscious self (like not moving all or part of the body, or waking at a very specific time) and then actually carry them out?

In: Biology

6 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

I don’t think that anyone has conscious sleep brain control in the way that you’re asking. Your example of not loving the body during sleep doesn’t make sense, people move around in their sleep all the time.

Anonymous 0 Comments

This is actually pretty easy to explain to a five year old:

The brain doesn’t sleep. It is still fully functional while you sleep. It’s just not processing information the same as when you are awake. Think about critters like bats that hang upside down to sleep; same thing.

I’m not sure neurologists can explain out the actual (complex) mechanism by which this happens; there is alot about the brain that we do not understand.

Anonymous 0 Comments

I would also like to know this. Is it just another part of the brain we just don’t understand yet? Sub conciousness or the like?

Anonymous 0 Comments

Can’t answer the first part properly, I’m really not specialised in sleep.

For the second part, it’s because we have an internal clock that is synchronized on the natural sunlight, with the help of this clock your body knows more or less what “time” it is and that’s why you can wake up regularely at a given time without the need of an alarm clock.

It doesn’t work every time because depending on your level of stress, fatigue it can disturb it. Alternating between night/day shift at work disturb it as well.

Anonymous 0 Comments

I also want to know this.

I never use an alarm clock, but will tell myself I want to wake by 4 am and I wake around 3:45 am and slither out of bed (so as not to wake my sleeping wife)

Anonymous 0 Comments

During actual dream sleep (R.E.M.) however, your brain paralyzes your body so you don’t act out your dream activities and accidentally kill yourself.

This would then mean that sleep walking doesn’t generally happen during dream sleep.

It also explains that rare but unsettling experience of waking up and not being able to move. This can include visual dream hallucinations as well which can explain many ghost and alien sightings that occur in bed.
This fusion of the waking and sleeping state is called hypnagogia