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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

A brain short on sleep dials up pain intensity

Brain region that naturally dampens pain falls short in those running an acute sleep deficit.
Medical worker napping in hospital

Exhausted people have a lower tolerance for pain than those who have enjoyed a good night’s sleep. Credit: Andersen Ross/Getty

Poor sleep is known to amplify the experience of pain. Experiments in a sleep lab now suggest a reason why: in several brain regions, activity patterns in the sleep-deprived brain are different from those in the well-rested brain.

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Nature 566, 10 (2019)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-00305-8

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