Mathematical Models used to explain sleep
2010
We all know that all people need to sleep. But, what happens during sleep, and why we need to sleep at all. Some people would say to get some rest.” But, this doesn’t hold when looking at the issue from a biological point of view. True enough, over the years, scientists have determined that sleeping helps clear our mind, get rid of useless data, and consolidate important moments and experiences, but some of the most difficult questions related to the subject still remain unanswered. Now, researchers at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) take a new approach to answering them, ScienceDaily reports.
Rather than conducting sleep studies, direct observations on sleeping test subjects, or brain scans, they are attempting to create a mathematical model that would be able to provide other investigators with accurate predictions of how changing certain external factors would influence sleep quality. Environmental, medical, or physical changes around an individual will affect his or her sleep, many experts already know.
The computer simulation is being developed by RPI mathematics professor Mark Holmes, who is working together with Lisa Rogers, one of his graduate students. They also plan to include data that would give investigators more indications of how the dynamics of the sleep-wake cycle function, and what the effects of disturbances in this cycle may be. They wanted to create a very interdisciplinary tool to understand the sleep-wake cycle. They based the model on the best and most recent biological findings developed by neurobiologists on the various phases of the cycle and built our mathematical equations from that foundation. This has created a model that is both mathematically and biologically accurate and useful to a variety of scientists.
A new pathological research has announced that herbal medicine can lead to unwanted deaths, especially in people who consume too much of their natural remedies, or who combine such substances with prescription medication. Professor Roger Byard of University of Adelaide forensic pathologist underlines the fact that many herbal chemicals have very toxic compounds inside, which can kill an adult on their own when taken in excessive quantities, or when combined with other chemicals from other drugs.
Nowadays, there are too many fad diets that place too little importance on health and more on achieving impressive results over a very short period of time. We should understand that a healthy diet means, a change in lifestyle, and a change that means we stop eating foods that are bad for us and have them replaced with something healthier and lighter in calories.
Why do we need
The founder of Microsoft Bill Gates and his wife Melinda have said they will donate $10bn over the next 10 years to develop and deliver new vaccines. Mr Gates, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, said the aim was to see 90% of children in developing countries immunized.
Are naps good for you or bad? I have learned both sides of the tale. I would like to nail down this controversy and show you how you are able to manage your sleep right so you can create an abundance of energy in your life, with lesser sleep. Yes, catnaps are really healthy, that is if you understand how your sleep system acts, and you know how to take a nap the right way.
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