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Time Magazine
4 days ago
- Health
- Time Magazine
Does sleeping on a problem really work?
The busy box that is your brain is hard at work all day long—and it doesn't quit when you're asleep. Not only does your brain fill your slumber with dreams, it also goes right on solving the problems that plagued you during the day, often coming up with solutions by the time you wake up. The idea of sleeping on a problem and seeing if you can get some clarity in the morning is a common one, but is it scientifically sound? A growing body of research says yes. The latest piece of evidence that sleeping on a problem actually works comes courtesy of a small study recently published in the Journal of Neuroscience. A group of 25 people did a memorization task while wired up to an electroencephalograph (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) so the researchers could monitor which portions of their brains lit up as they worked. Everyone then took an afternoon nap, with brain sensors still in place. The researchers were looking for sleep spindles: bursts of activity that occur in the brain during a relatively light stage of sleep. The location of the spindles can provide a clue as to what kind of information the brain is consolidating and processing at any particular time. Read More: Why Do Some People Need More Sleep Than Others? Spindle activity was especially high in the same areas of the brain that were used in the memorization task, and the greater the activity, the more people improved at the task when they tried it after the nap. 'Brain rhythms occur everywhere in the brain during sleep,' said Dara Manoach, professor of psychiatry at Harvard University Medical School and a coauthor of the study, in a statement that accompanied its release. 'But the rhythms in these regions increase after learning, presumably to stabilize and enhance memory.' Alyssa Sinclair, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, found something similar in a study published last year. After sleeping on a difficult task, people were more level-headed the next day. 'When we waited, when we let them sleep on it, they made somewhat more rational choices,' she says. 'They were no longer quite as drawn to evaluating events based solely on their first impressions.' This more measured take on things is due in large part to the region of the brain known as the hippocampus, which is responsible for processing short-term memories and, during sleep, for helping to determine which of those memories will be transferred to long-term storage and which will essentially be deleted. 'When we're asleep,' says Sinclair, 'the hippocampus is hard at work, consolidating those memories and experiences from throughout the day. It does this by replaying things that were important and pruning away the things that weren't.' Read More: How to Be More Spontaneous As a Busy Adult The hippocampus is not alone in handling this work. Once it is done choosing the most relevant experiences, it transfers the keepers to the neocortex, where long-term memories are stored and integrated with existing memories. Those two brain regions do more than just file or trash information. They also analyze it—turning it this way and that and making connections that may not have been entirely obvious when we first encountered the information. It's during sleep that this process often takes place. 'Sleep is critical for problem-solving, creativity, and emotional regulation,' says Daniela Grimaldi, a research associate professor at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. 'Deep sleep, also called slow-wave sleep…provides the optimal conditions for this memory transfer to occur efficiently, ensuring that important experiences and learning are preserved, while less critical information is filtered out.' 'Your mind engages in informational alchemy,' says Matthew Walker, professor of neuroscience at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of the book Why We Sleep, 'reassembling memory fragments into a novel set of associations and colliding them with the back-catalogue of stored information.' Deep sleep is not the only phase that plays a role in problem-solving and memory consolidation. The lightest of the four phases of sleep, known as N1 (for non-rapid eye movement stage one), can also yield profound cognitive benefits. One 2023 study in Science Advances found that when people were presented with a complex math problem, they tripled their chances of solving it if they spent as little as 15 seconds in N1 sleep after being exposed to the problem. 'Our findings suggest that there is a creative sweet spot within the sleep-onset period,' the researchers wrote, 'and hitting it requires individuals balancing falling asleep easily against falling asleep too deeply.' Read More: An Alzheimer's Blood Test Might Predict Advanced Disease None of this suggests that the conscious mind is a secondary player in learning and integrating and consolidating information. The cognitive muscle work of creativity—of art and scientific research and philosophical insight—is all conducted by wide-awake thinkers. But when the lights go off and consciousness winks out, another, deeper process goes to work. 'Creative problem solving improves after a period of sleep,' says Sinclair, 'which helps us piece together those threads of what we've been thinking about, filter out irrelevant information, and come to a better conclusion when we wake up the next day.' It's possible to improve our chances of benefitting from all of that nocturnal work our brains are doing—if we know how. 'Dream memories vanish rapidly upon waking, making instant recording crucial,' says Walker. 'Keeping a dream journal or voice recorder bedside helps immensely. Upon waking, remain still with eyes closed for a moment, allowing dreams and insights to crystallize before the demands of daily life crowd them out. By creating this gentle routine, you enhance your chances of retaining the solutions your sleeping brain—through its unique informational alchemy—has woven overnight.'
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Yahoo
Russian Harvard researcher detained for months charged with smuggling
May 14 (UPI) -- A Russian Harvard University Medical School researcher held in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody since February has been arrested and charged with smuggling biological material into the United States. The one count of smuggling goods into the United States was announced by the Justice Department on Wednesday, marking a dramatic escalation in the case that has garnered attention from academics. According to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint -- which was dated Monday but made public Wednesday -- Kseniia Petrova had frog embryos and embryonic samples in her possession when entering the country that she did not declare to immigration authorities. The document states she arrived at Boston's Logan International Airport from Paris on Feb. 16. A Customs and Border Protection canine alerted its handler to Petrova's bag, which was removed and brought to an agricultural secondary inspection area for further screening where biological items were found. When questioned about it, she allegedly denied carrying any biological material, but a search of a plastic bag she was carrying revealed additional biological material. Under oath, she admitted that the items were biological material and said she was not sure if she was supposed to declare them on her arrival, the document states, adding that a search of her found text messages to the contrary. "[I]f you bring samples or antibody back, make sure you get the permission," one text message she received from an unidentified person said. "What is your plan to pass the American ... Customs with samples? This is the most delicate place of the trajectory," another text message read. A third message to Petrova's phone had asked: "what is your plan for getting through customs with samples?" "No plan yet," Petrova allegedly replied, according to excerpts of the messages included in the court document. "I won't be able to swallow them." If convicted, Petrova could face up to 20 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. "The rule of law does not have a carve out for educated individuals with pedigree," U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said in a recorded statement. The affidavit states her visa was canceled at the airport. "The U.S. visa that Ms. Petrova was given -- which was revoked by customs officials as a result of her conduct -- is a privilege, not a right." Her lawyer, Gregory Romanovsky, told The New York Times that Petrova's J-1 visa was canceled and that deportation proceedings were initiated. He said normally, a case like this would be treated as a minor infraction, and that filing the criminal charge three months after the alleged violation, "is clearly intended to make Kseniia look like a criminal to justify their efforts to deport her." Romanovsky also added that a Vermont hearing held earlier Wednesday had essentially established that his client was detained unlawfully and that the complaint had "blindsided" them, and Petrova's transfer from immigration to criminal custody was "suspect" as it occurred right after a judge set a bail hearing, signaling she could be released. During the Vermont hearing, U.S. District Judge Christina Reiss had questioned the government over the legality of its actions. "Where does a Customs and Border Patrol officer have the authority on his or her own to revoke a visa?" Reiss asked, NBC News reported. "You cannot be found inadmissible because of the customs violation." According to the affidavit, Petrova told customs that she is fearful of going back to Russia. "She claimed she had protested the Russian Federation," the affidavit states. "She provided no other details." In an opinion piece she wrote for The New York Times -- and which was published Tuesday -- Petrova states she had left Russia after being arrested for protesting its war in Ukraine. The charge was filed as the Trump administration has been conducting a crackdown on immigration, including targeting foreign-born academics, particularly over their support for Palestine amid Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza. Some of those detained students have been released by judges who have ruled against the Trump administration's use of immigration enforcement to seek to deport them. Last week, White House senior adviser Stephen Miller said they are "actively looking at" suspending the writ of habeas corpus, which is the right to challenge the legality of a person's detention by the government.
