Scientists Discover the Brain Actually Has Multiple Clocks

Have you ever wondered why when you pull an all-nighter you go past the point of being tired?  Well, this is all down to the fact that our bodies don’t just rely on one clock, but they rely on multiple clocks.  Scientists have discovered that while our bodies do follow a natural circadian rhythm that tells us to rise with the sun, the brain also reacts differently depending on the amount of time a person has been awake.

From the study, scientists concluded that different regions of the brain take stronger cues from the amount of time you have been awake, while others are more worried that the sun is rising and you are still up.  Co-author of the study and sleep researcher at Belgium’s University of Liege, Pierre Maquet stated, “This is the first time there is evidence that we have multiple brain clocks.”
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During the study, 33 adults participated and underwent MRI scans in order to monitor their brain activity after they had stayed awake for 42 hours straight and after a 12 hours sleep recovery period.  The scans showed that brain activity fluctuates according to the circadian rhythm in some areas but according to the sleep drive in other areas. Maquet commented that “This is an important finding because it changes scientists’ understanding of how spending more hours awake affects the brain and specific brain functions.” The team is hopeful that the research will lead to better ways of diagnosing sleep disorders, which can often by tricky due to the fact that other disorders share the same symptoms.

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