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"Although this study has been conducted on rodents, it also explains why we often feel thirsty and want to drink some liquid like water or milk before going to bed. "The co-author of the research group, Professor of Neurology Charles Bourque at McGill University in Quebec, said.
However, scientists also say that they need more research to verify this new finding is completely applicable to humans.
Before conducting this new study, the researchers found that rodents seem to drink more water for two hours before going to bed, but the reason for this increase in water is still unknown. Clearly defined.
In the study, scientists did not let 12 mice drink water for a few hours before going to bed. As a result, those mice were severely dehydrated after waking up. This result helps researchers to suggest that increasing the amount of drinking water before going to bed can be a way for mice to protect themselves against dehydration during sleep.
However, scientists also want to find out which mechanism reminds mice that need to drink plenty of water before going to sleep. They wondered if the cells inside the brain " moisture sensors " create a feeling of thirst, attaching to parts of the brain to control the biological clock in the rat's body, reminding them to go to sleep and wake up. [5 things you may not know about sleep]
Researchers use electricity to stimulate the biological clock inside the brains of mice and find that this stimulation seems to have increased the production of vasopressin hormones , produced in the same brain region. .
" In the next experiments done in mice, scientists discovered that vasopressin hormones actually activate the thirst-related brain cells ," according to a study published Sept. 29. in Nature magazine.
" However, more research is needed to determine if similar mechanisms work in the human body. There is a lot of evidence that some people often feel thirsty and want to drink something first. When going to bed, while the rest say they do not want to drink before going to bed, the number of people who decide not to drink before going to bed is because their fear of bladder will wake them up to urinate in the middle of the night. "Bourque answered Live Science.
"However, these new findings could help researchers better understand the biological clock activity inside the human brain ," the researchers said.