You may have seen your father or someone close to you sitting with the TV remote in his hand, his head falling forward while his eyes were succumbing to sleep. Even if it is not very comfortable in the place where you sit, these short-term sleeps, which are very sweet to people, are also given a very sweet name: Nap. What about the micro-sleep in our content, or could it be much more dangerous?
As we can guess from the name, micro-sleep; lasting less than 20 secondsis the name given to very short naps. However, the candies we mentioned above are popularly known as “I took a nap!” The shortcuts we call do not actually meet this definition.
Like what causes microsleep, how it can cause dangers, or how we can prevent microsleep. mind-blowing question marks We answered for you. If you’re ready, let’s get started.
How can you tell if you’ve had microsleep before?
When our topic is sleep, we all think of closing our eyes, deactivating our consciousness and resting our body. What about microsleep? Imagine sitting in a cafe to chat with your colleague on the evening of a working day. While you are talking about something, he is looking at a certain point and looking dull. insensitivity to environmental factors started.
Yes, your guesses are correct! Your friend may have experienced micro-sleep at the time. Because in microsleep, like real sleep, the eyes do not need to be closed or the body needs to be in a relaxed position. involuntary loss of consciousness During this microsleep, the person may sometimes be in an open or extremely uncomfortable position.
If you have experienced the following situations before, you may have met micro-sleep.
- If you yawn repeatedly or blink too often
- If you wake up with your head falling forward or a sudden jolt of your body
- If you can’t remember what was just said or experienced, you may have experienced microsleep.
What happens in our brains when we experience microsleep?
Those who have had an EEG before or have knowledge of brain waves, oscillating at different frequencies in our brain alpha, beta, theta waves has heard. Frequency changes in the brain are classified according to the alertness and activity of our mental activities. For example, we can say that the alpha wave occurs in a state of relaxation and calmness of the mind.
Beta waves appear in our brain during activities (eating, talking, etc.) that we have done many times before and have become habits, that is, we do consciously. During micro-sleep immediately after conscious behaviors, brain beta waves are released immediately after deep relaxation, REM sleep and even theta waves released during hypnosis. a momentary pass it is lived.
When the EEG results were examined, it was noticed that micro-sleep resembled the second stage of a normal sleep. The body, which goes into resting mode with the decrease in body temperature and the slowing of the heart rhythm, is actually preparing for a deep sleep. This is where micro-sleep comes in. difference from normal sleep we can see.
Almost all of us, at least once, have fallen asleep while a disciplined teacher was teaching at school. Even if we sleep at that moment, we cannot fall into a deep sleep because our brain is aware that we should not sleep during that lesson. The brain should not sleep at that moment. When he realizes it seconds later, we wake up with a jump. It is precisely these seconds of naps and leaps that are signs of micro-sleep.
Is microsleep only caused by insomnia?
As you might guess, the main reason for micro-sleep is lack of sleep. A busy and long work life, shift work hours or waking up in the morning to prepare for an exam you have to take the next day… Each of these are situations that can cause micro-sleep. So for you to experience this situation You do not need to suffer from insomnia on a regular basis.
In fact, we can say that people with a regular sleep cycle are more likely to experience microsleep than people who make irregular sleep a part of their life. Except for lack of sleep; poor quality sleep, sleep apnea, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, alcohol, anxiety and depression are also important factors that can cause micro-sleep.
What dangers can this seemingly innocent sleep actually cause?
If you succumb to micro-sleep while changing channels in front of the television, of course, there will be no serious danger. However when you are behind the wheel things are changing. Everyone knows that in addition to driving in the city, driving on long distances is a pleasant but tiring job. Especially if you are traveling at night, be careful!
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration states that up to 6,000 fatal traffic accidents a year may be related to sleep-deprived drivers. In a survey conducted with drivers, the participants 4% fell asleep while driving conclusion has been reached.
Let’s take a look at what the seemingly innocent 2-3 seconds of sleep can cause while driving.
When a driver traveling at 100 km/h falls asleep for 3 seconds It will deviate about 100 meters from the road it is advancing. This may mean crossing into the side lane on a two-way road. But of course, microsleep isn’t just a danger to car drivers. At the same time, these innocent seconds of sleep can be life-threatening for many other occupational groups such as pilots or healthcare professionals.
You can apply the following items when you feel that sleep is starting to take over you.
- Stop whatever you’re doing at the moment and Try doing a different activity. For example; If you have been working sitting for hours, you can get up and walk and move a little to speed up your blood circulation.
- When the body experiences severe sleep deprivation sleep consciously, albeit for a very short time, it will make you gain more power than you think (of course, don’t forget to set an alarm to wake up!).
- take caffeine It may keep you awake for a while. You can feel the effect in your body in about half an hour.
- If we think our brain cells stay awake while talking to someone to talk It can also be a good choice to stay away from micro-sleep. Thus, we can breathe more, and we can ensure that the increased amount of oxygen is released in our bloodstream.
Well; It is very important where you get caught in micro-sleep, which can often be considered harmless, which lasts only seconds. you read above if you experience symptoms frequently It is useful to review your sleep pattern and stay away from factors that impair your sleep quality. Tell us!