Scientists from Bar-Ilan University have found out why animals and humans need sleep to rest and how
A team of scientists from Bar-Ilan University(Israel) was able to study the mechanism of sleep in zebrafish, and this data was also partially confirmed in mice. The results of the study were published in the journal Molecular Cell.
During wakefulness in the human bodyfatigue builds up. Its level decreases after a healthy night's sleep. However, why in general can people get so tired? In fact, during wakefulness, DNA damage accumulates in neurons, and they are able to reach levels that are dangerous to health. Sleep contributes to effective DNA repair.
During experiments involving fishzebrafish, the researchers found out whether DNA damage triggers the accumulation of fatigue and subsequent sleep. It turned out that indeed, after accumulating a certain level of DNA damage, the fish had a desire to sleep and eventually fell asleep. During sleep, the amount of these lesions decreased.
After that, scientists determined how many hours it takes a zebrafish to fully rest. It turned out that six hours are enough for her.
In addition, experts came to the conclusion that inin the brain, one of the first to signal the need for sleep is the PARP1 protein. Moreover, if you suppress the activity of this protein, then fatigue will not be recognized: in this case, the fish did not understand that they were tired and that they needed sleep to restore the damaged DNA.
Also, the role of PARP1 in the regulation of sleep has been confirmed by experiments in mice. With a decrease in the activity of this protein, they decreased the duration and quality of sleep.
Source: Phys.org