Why does boredom make you tired

Nature Communications , ; 8 1 DOI: ScienceDaily, 29 September University of Tsukuba. Why do we fall asleep when bored?. Retrieved November 10, from www.

Researchers report the first direct evidence Scientists from the University of Tsukuba in Japan found that this part of the brain is densely populated by receptors for one a molecule that makes us sleepy. Whether you have had a full night's rest or none at all, the pleasure center of the brain will still make you sleepy if you're bored. Boredom-induced sleep does not appear to be any different from regular sleep, and both can be fought off with caffeine, according to the study.

The 'feel-good' part of the brain is responsible for every time we feel sleepy during a boring class or meeting, a new study proves. Japanese researchers found that the nucleus accumbens in the forebrain had an extremely strong ability to induce sleep. The nucleus accumbens plays a key role in the brain's reward system, which releases dopamine and makes us feel pleasure when we do things that are productive for our survival, like eating, hydrating, having sex or even socializing.

But in the absence of these motivational stimuli, the same part of the brain appears to make us very tired. The nucleus accumbens has many receptors that respond to a neurotransmitter, called adenosine, which helps to regulate our sleeping and waking cycle.

Lead study author Yo Oishi, from the University of Tsukuba, said: 'The classic somnogen adenosine is a strong candidate for evoking the sleep effect in the nucleus accumbens. Cure it with coffee: Caffeine blocks the receptors for the neurotransmitter that makes us sleepy when we're bored.

Scientists proved this phenomenon by using drugs and light to stimulate brain cells in the nucleus accumbens of mice, which, they found, caused the mice to sleep. LOG IN. Forgot Password?

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The brain mechanisms governing the regulation of sleep by cognitive and emotional factors are not well understood. A new paper published in the journal Nature Communications finds that a part of the brain that is associated with motivation and pleasure - the nucleus accumbens - also can produce sleep.