Photo/Illutration Researchers identify a brain mechanism that controls how deeply and how long we sleep. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

TSUKUBA, Ibaraki Prefecture--Researchers here identified part of the cerebral mechanism that controls the quality and quantity of sleep, a groundbreaking achievement that is expected to lead to new treatments for sleep disorders.

The discovery, made by a team primarily from the University of Tsukuba and published in the British scientific journal Nature on Dec. 8, provided some answers to an age-old question: Why do living creatures become sleepy?

The team researched an enzyme in the brain known as salt-inducible kinase 3 (SIK3), believing the substance plays a key role in the cerebral function to regulate how deeply and how long we sleep.

But how the enzyme works had not been determined.

The researchers genetically manipulated mice and found SIK3 interacted with two other enzymes and affected patterns of sleep through chain reactions.

They also discovered that the chain reactions regulate the quality (depth) of sleep within the cerebral cortex and the quantity (length) of sleep within the hypothalamus, a small part deep in the brain that maintains the body’s internal balance.

The researchers expect developing a SIK3-based agent to provide a better solution to sleep disorders.

Sleep is thought to be controlled by not only the newly confirmed chain reactions but also more complex mechanisms.

“We expect the finding to lead to unlocking the fundamental mystery of why those staying awake for many hours feel like going to bed,” said Masashi Yanagisawa, director of the university’s International Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine, who headed the team.

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