Hi,
I just fell asleep in class with the camera off and when the professor called my name to make sure my group was ready to present I immediately woke up to say that I was in the lecture and almost had a heart attack because missing this specific lecture is an automatic fail. I wanted to ask anyone as to why we wake up if someone calls our name even when we’ve been asleep for 10+ minutes, but don’t wake up when hearing other people’s names or the lecture content.
In: Biology
Luckily, enough of your ‘ancestors’ were killed while they slept that the ones that survived passed along a heightened sleeping situational awareness.
Similar to the “cocktail effect” where your brain is able to pick up the sound of your name in a party if some one says it. You normally can’t hear their conversations but will hear your name
In psychology, this is called the Cocktail Party Effect because, simply, it allows you to hear your name in a crowded room of people. Your brain is constantly receiving auditory input, but many things heard are deemed unimportant by the brain, so those things are cast aside. Your name is //not// one of those things. When your brain hears your name, it’s recognizes that thids is important and necessary to be aware of, so it quickly triggers a response. Other examples of auditory sounds that are deemed important by the brain are the word “fire”, the sound of squealing tires, and such.
It even works with visual bright lights. I work in EMS and our CADs (computers in the ambo) would turn red until we tap the screen to acknowledge the call. I worked nights so the screen would basically light up the entire front of the truck. I’ve worked mornings for over a year and we’re even using different CADs and my brain still recognizes it. Left the TV on and the scene had a lot of red and I woke up thinking I had a call. My wife’s reaction was pretty funny but it’s still frustrating to deal with lol
As a side note, falling asleep during an “automatic fail if you fall asleep” lesson must mean you’re really tired!
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In the brain it’s called RAS reticular activating system. The brain never rests or goes off it’s a goddamn supercomputer Nonetheless, the RAS It is the running monitor of what’s going on while the body rests. When awake we are aware of our surroundings and dangers but when the body is “off” and the supercomputer is storing information and opening space for new information something has to keep getting the job done. It’s why we don’t roll off the bed our entire life or what alerts you if a lion was in your room. The security camera is always on and information is always under review
Is it possible to learn this power? I sleep through everything
I didn’t use my nickname in Uni. So, when a guy called me by that, I recognized that someone calling me after 3-4 times. Prolly people use their name as some kind of trigger word.
Better yet, why do we wake up exactly on our bus stop?
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