By David Rhee, La Cañada High School, Grade 11
May 6, 2011
Today, snorting is most often associated with illegal activities and narcotics. However, snorting is the simplest and easiest way to get any substance to the brain. With this mindset, scientists have come up with a groundbreaking way to cure sleep deprivation by supplying the brain directly with synthesized chemicals created during sleep.
Orexin A, a naturally occurring brain hormone, is the main player in this most promising alternative to sleep. Scientists believe that by manually supplying Orexin A through the nostrils to the brain, sleep related disorders such as narcolepsy, insomnia, and sleep deprivation, can be conquered.
For decades, those who simply could not afford the privilege of sleep have been using coffee, energy drinks, and other such stimulants for a cheap boost. However, common side-effects that compliment these temporary stimulants include the debilitating crash that results after the short burst of energy, as well as addiction, raised blood pressure, and even erratic mood swings. Orexin A sets itself apart from these products because of its natural properties. Because it is a chemical naturally produced by the body, Orexin A seems to be a promisingly benign, relatively side-effect-free chemical.
Orexin A has already been used in tests and experiments. One experiment was conducted by administrating Orexin A to monkeys deprived of sleep for entire days right before taking a standard cognitive test. When the sleep deprived monkeys treated with Orexin A were paired against another group of sleep deprived monkeys and another group of well rested monkeys, the results of the Orexin A group showed that the monkeys performed just as well, if not better than the normally rested monkeys. The study, published in The Journal of Neuroscience, found that Orexin A not only restored the monkeys’ cognitive abilities, but also made their brains look fully awake and revitalized in PET scans.
Another unique property of Orexin A is that it was observed to only have an impact on sleepy monkeys, and not alert ones. This means that the chemical is able to reverse only the effects of sleepiness without having any other various impacts on the brain. However, scientists have testified that long-term results of sleep deprivation in other parts of the body are not yet fully known. Concerns that long bouts of sleep deprivation can have unrelated, devastating effects to other parts and processes of the body including the muscles and the body’s metabolism remain one of the main criticisms of Orexin A usage.
It is clear that as a part of a society that already self-medicates with caffeine, Orexin A will no doubt become a valued medical practice to workers, pilots, and students alike in the future. Of course, the effects Orexin A dependency can have on the body are not yet fully confirmed. Nevertheless, a watchful eye should be kept on such a potentially life-changing substance.
