Sleep
Researchers have demonstrated that brain waves during sleep can determine the extent of a person’s risk appetite. Research published in the journal NeuroImage shows that slow waves occur during deep sleep and indicate good sleep quality and regeneration. Neuroscientist Daria Notch explained, “The fewer slow waves a person has on a person’s right prefrontal cortex during deep sleep, the greater their propensity for risk. important to control.”
The topographical distribution of slow waves in the brain is highly individualized and highly stable over time, meaning that each person has their own individual neuronal sleep profile. To determine whether this profile reveals anything about a person’s propensity for exposure, the research team studied 54 “good sleepers” who typically slept seven to eight hours. These were identified using actigraphs, which track movement patterns during sleep. “The individual slow-wave profile can only be correctly interpreted during normal sleep,” explained study leader Lorena Gianotti.
In the next step, sleep data was collected at the participants’ homes using a portable polysomnographic system in which 64 electrodes were placed on their scalps. “The unobstructed measurement of brain activity during sleep in a familiar environment and the high density of data collected by 64 electrodes is rare in sleep research as a constellation. This allows participants to sleep naturally and allows us to sleep more easily.” allows to collect amounts of data,” explained doctoral student and first author, Mirjam Studler. And this data is very meaningful and important: participants who show less slow-wave activity on their right prefrontal cortex generally display a greater propensity for risk than individuals with more slow-wave activity.
The tendency to take risks came to the fore in a computer game where they could win real money: participants had to decide how far they would drive the car in the knowledge that at some point, a wall would appear that the car would hit. Each meter driven earned them more money, but also increased their risk of crashing.
“Interestingly, sleep duration had no effect in terms of risk propensity, at least in our study with good sleepers. Rather, it is important that deep sleep occurs in regions of the right brain – in this case , right prefrontal cortex,” explained Lorena Gianotti.
Health economics research has demonstrated that risky behavior can have substantial health and financial consequences. According to the researchers, it is therefore important to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying the propensity for risky behaviour. “Our findings could be incorporated into targeted interventions. Sleep researchers are now developing techniques to specifically modify slow waves,” Notch said.
(with ANI inputs)