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# Can your brain fall asleep while you're awake?
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/brain_0503110705/
- Published: 2011-05-03T08:03:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-15T13:14:32.000Z
- Description: Rats kept awake showed problem-solving brain regions slipping into a kind of 'local sleep' while overall brain activity and behavior looked fully awake, and the animals struggled with hard tasks, a Nature study found. Researchers say the same is likely in sleep-deprived people.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Disease, Health News, #vivvo-import

by Aimee Keenan-Greene  
  
A new study in the journal [*Nature*](http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v472/n7344/full/nature10009.html?ref=foodconsumer.org)may be a wake-up call for millions who think they are just as alert with minimal sleep, as they are with a full night's rest.Scientists studied the electrical activity in the brains of rats forced to stay up and now say parts of your brain may doze, even if you appear totally awake.  

Specifically, researchers say the problem-solving brain regions fell into a kind of 'local sleep' even though overall brain activity, and outward behaviors, suggested the animals were fully awake. However, they did have trouble completing challenging tasks.  
  
This condition is also likely to occur in sleep-deprived people.  
  
According to the [National Sleep Foundation](http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/how-sleep-works/how-much-sleep-do-we-really-need?ref=foodconsumer.org) (NSF), adults generally need seven to nine hours of sleep a day.  
Teens need about 9 1/4 hours of sleep each night to function best according to the [NSF](http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/sleep-topics/teens-and-sleep?ref=foodconsumer.org).

In 2008, about 29 percent of U.S. adults reported sleeping fewer than seven hours per night, and 50 to 70 million had chronic sleep and wakefulness disorders, according to the[U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention](http://www.cdc.gov/?ref=foodconsumer.org). Being sleep deprived can be especially dangerous behind the wheel, according to AAA.

They estimate as many as 250–thousand people doze off at the wheel every day. Approximately one in every six fatal crashes (16.5 percent) in the USA involves a drowsy driver. Forty-one percent of drivers say they have fallen asleep while driving at some time in their lives.

Teenagers are especially sleep-deprived. Sleep-related crashes are most common in young people, especially those who tend to stay up late, sleep too little, and drive at night.  
  
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) conservatively estimates 100,000 police-reported crashes are the direct result of driver fatigue each year, resulting in 1,500 deaths, 71,000 injuries, and $12.5 billion in losses.