This question was brought to you by,… me wondering if animals even lose consciousness when they sleep, seeing as they are instantly up and moving after the slightest noise.
In: Biology
Different parts of the brain start firing. The trigger can be a whole number of things: sound, light, feeling, some internal timer. Whatever wakes you. It kicks off some process which causes different parts of the brain to be more active (more neurons firing). The brain isn’t all off while you sleep (otherwise your heart and thyroid would be a mess), but not all parts are on. Conscious thought resides on the outer-layer of the brain away from the brain stem. When they’re active and processing, you’re awake.
> if animals even lose consciousness when they sleep
Yes. Most of them. I think there are exceptions.
> seeing as they are instantly up and moving after the slightest noise.
Some of them are just light sleepers, seeing as there’s risk that they’ll be eaten if they’re not.
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