Snorting a Brain Chemical Could Replace Sleep

Tue, 01 Jan 2008 17:04:36 +0000

According to Jewish sources we will no longer require sleep after the Ressurection of the Dead, recent technological advances make this seem less absurd. Here's the story from ABC News:

In what sounds like a dream for millions of tired coffee drinkers, Darpa-funded scientists might have found a drug that will eliminate sleepiness.

nasal spray containing a naturally occurring brain hormone called orexin A reversed the effects of sleep deprivation in monkeys, allowing them to perform like well-rested monkeys on cognitive tests. The discovery's first application will probably be in treatment of the severe sleep disorder narcolepsy.

The treatment is "a totally new route for increasing arousal, and the new study shows it to be relatively benign," said Jerome Siegel, a professor of psychiatry at UCLA and a co-author of the paper. "It reduces sleepiness without causing edginess."

Source: ABC News

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Snorting a Brain Chemical Could Replace Sleep