Even mitochondria – the powerhouse of the cell – needs a nap sometimes! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. We know sleep is important. But what does it actually DO for our bodies? Enter Raffaele Sarnataro and team from University of Oxford. They used fruit
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Hey, coffee lovers! How’s your sleep? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Caffeine can boost alertness. It’s in coffee, chocolate – even soda! But what if you have too much caffeine before bed? Enter Philipp Thölke and team from the University of Montreal! They gave
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Tossing, turning… and gasping for air! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. We all hate hot nights — sweaty sheets, cranky mornings. But are we losing more than sleep? Enter Bastien Lechat and team from Flinders University in Australia. Using under-the-mattress sleep trackers, they studied a hundred
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Paging Doctor Bozo! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Send in the clowns – seriously! Hospitals often use them to cheer up kids before scary procedures. Less fear, less pain, faster recovery! But what about sleep? Hospitalized children often feel anxious… could clowns help these
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Is there a hack for… dreams?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Lucid dreaming is when you realize that you’re dreaming while you’re still asleep. Could meditation strengthen this state of awareness between waking and sleeping? Osnabrück University’s Elena Gerhardt and team investigated. They divided
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Can’t fall asleep without the comforting glow of your devices? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Cue record scratch GIF—sleeping with lights on is linked to diabetes and obesity! Why? Ivy Mason and team from Northwestern University had ten participants sleep one night in near-darkness,
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Go ahead, sleep in. It’s good for ya! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science Lee Hsiang Liow and colleagues of the University of Oslo identified over forty-five hundred mammal species exhibiting “sleep-or-hide” behavior. Think tunneling, burrowing, or hibernating. They then looked at the “Red List”
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Welcome to the memory storage department – graveyard shift! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Your sleep is divided into different stages, each helping store memories from the day. But how does your brain sort through WHICH memories to keep? Enter Hongyu Chang and team
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Is the key to better sleep… Enzyme fight club?!? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. In tonight’s main event: Kinase vs Phosphatase! Kinases add specific molecules to other proteins, while phosphatases undo the work of the kinases. The activity balance of these proteins can determine
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Do spiders dream of… eight-legged sheep?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science… saying… Wait! Spiders… dream? Well, to do that, they’d have to experience REM sleep. That’s a deep sleep state characterized by rapid eye movements. That’s when most of our HUMAN dreams occur! Now,
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