-----John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men
Whenever, we feel sluggish or drowsy, sometimes we reach for candy or other sweet for a sugar high and anticipated boost in alertness. However, according to a recent published report, our anticipation may be misplaced. It seems that a boost in sugar intake may actually put us into sleepiness.*
It is well established that a large meal, such as at Thanksgiving, can cause overeaters to fall asleep even over the blare of boring televised football games and clacking relatives. But, maybe we should not blame the turkey hormones for our drowsiness.
A new study in London shows that sugar promotes sleep instead of alertness. In the study, glucose was injected into the brains of mice. Certain nerve cells in mouse brains are sleep inducers. (I wonder if other cells are cheese graving producers). At any rate, the study shows that the glucose stimulated the sleep causing cells, and the mice promptly nodded off for a deep sleep. Indeed, the more the neurons detected sweetness, the stronger the resulting sleep.
According to the report, human sleep causing neurons appear to be similar to those of mice. One wonders, then, what to make of the quote from Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men": "Trouble with mice is you always kill 'em." If the cells of mice and men are similar, then a similar reaction to sugar may be expected appears to be the conclusion.
So, perhaps Mary Poppins was correct when she asserted that a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. In this case, a spoonful of sugar also helps the eyelids go down. Pardon me, while a reach for a piece of candyyyyyy......ZZZZZZZZZ.
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* Sanders, "Sugar May Put You to Sleep, Science News,
August 8, 2015, p. 15
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