issue 07 / volume 41

life & style // 17

How your sleeping brain makes decisions without you

» You can’t shut your mind off

Valerie Franklin,
The Cascade

Ee get the feeling you can’t
shut your mind off? That’s
because you can't. The brain is
constantly working—and now
scientists have begun to map
the amazing things it can do
even while the conscious mind
has gone to sleep.

According to previous
studies, a portion of the brain
continues to stay alert while
the body sleeps, in case of
danger. However, a recent
study from France’s Ecole
Normale Supérieure de Paris
took that idea further: what if
our sleeping brains not only
remain alert, but are capable of
processing ideas and making

decisions without the conscious :

mind’s awareness?

In the experiment—led
by cognitive neuroscientist
Sid Kouider and PhD student
Thomas Andrillon, and
published online in Current
Biology—tesearchers hooked
18 participants up to an
electroencephalogram (EEG),
then instructed them to
categorize words by pressing
a button as they were falling
asleep

The subjects listened toa

left or right button to sort them
into categories: first selecting

    
 

\

words for animals or objects
: from the list, and then sorting
: real words like “hammer” from

: pseudo-words like “fabu.”
list of words and pressed eithera :

Once the subjects fell

asleep, researchers repeated
: the experiment with a new set

; of words — with fascinating

: results. Despite the subjects

: being completely asleep, the

; EEG showed that their brains
: were still able to understand

: and categorize the new words
; just as accurately as they had

: when they were awake.

: longer for the subjects to

: process the information than

: it had when they were awake.

: However, even the electrical

: activity that would have caused

: their fingers to press the left or
: right button was still present—
: although because they were

: asleep, their hands remained
physically motionless.

“TThe study shows] that the

: sleeping brain can be far more

: ‘active’ in sleep than one would
: think,” Kouider said to BBC.

: “This explains some everyday

: life experiences such as our

: sensitivity to our name in our

: sleep, or to the specific sound

: of our alarm clock, compared

: to equally loud but less relevant
sounds.”

Even more fascinating is

: that when they woke up, the

: subjects had no memory of the

: tests that had occurred while

: they were asleep. That means

: that not only did they process

: and sort the information

: while asleep, but their brains

: did it entirely automatically,

: without any guidance from their
: conscious minds.

What does this mean for

: the average sleeper? Nothing

: yet—but it could pave the way

: toa future where you can wake
: up smarter than you were when

: you went to bed. Kouider told
: the Christian Science Monitor

It took two to three times

: that there’s a lot of interest in

: harnessing the unconscious

: brain's power to learn while we
: sleep.

“T don't think it’s science

: fiction,” he said. “I think that’s
: where we're going.”

 

Stop HIV & hep C now

» Condom size matters—super size me?

Andrea Arscott
Senior Columnist

Your super horny right
now. You think, “Why did

I bring this guy that looks like
an underwear model up to my
bedroom? I knew I wouldn't be
able to control myself, and any
condom I find in the back of
my nightstand drawer probably
expired last year.” Then he
whispers into your ear, “Do you
have a condom?” You respond,

into the naughty section of your
drawer, you find one. Knowing
that it’s old, you surrender to

start ripping into it with your
teeth.

Unfortunately, you're not
the smart one in this equation.
The supermodel looking down
at you says, “Wait, slow down!
Geez, turn the light on, and let’s
make sure this bad boy’s ready

: toroll” Trembling, you stutter,

: “Oh, okay. Yeah, that’s probably
: agood idea.” But you knowit’sa_:
: horrible idea. He checks the date :
: and says, “Sorry, tonight’s not

: your lucky night. This expired

: in 2012.” Your face turns red, and
: you let out a sigh and mutter,

: “Damn it!” He asks if you want

: to watch a movie, and you scurry
: off for popcorn, chocolate, and

: an extra-large glass of wine.

The next day you go

shopping for condoms at the

“J hell h ” R hi : closest Walmart. You sneak into
Sete chee : the forbidden aisle keeping one

: eye on the merchandise, while

: the other looks out for people

your desires, refusing to check if: YOU might know walking by.

: There are so many types and

it’s expired and/or damaged, and :
: brands of condoms: extra-large,
: flavoured, sensitive, thin, glow-
: in-the dark, fire and ice, Durex

: or Trojan, lubricated or non-

: lubricated, latex or polyurethane, :

: and the list goes on.

Sweat drips down your face

and you make a dash—empty-
: handed—for the McDonald’s,

: conveniently located inside the
: store. You buy a cheeseburger
: meal with a sundae and chow

down while you Google on your

: phone “how to choose the right

: condoms.” An article titled,

: “Pick the Perfect Condom for

: Your Penis” at MensHealth.com
: comes up (pardon the pun), and
: you read on. The article explains
: why size, shape, and texture

: matter.

Although you find the

: information helpful, you choke

: ona French fry while reading

: the part about a trick that

: the CEO of LuckyBloke.com

: recommends to determine what
: size of condom fits a penis best.

: According to the author, the

: CEO—Melissa White—suggests
: that men, “Grab the cardboard

: tube of an empty toilet paper roll :
: and slide it over a full hard-on. If :
: (STI), including HIV.

there’s extra room, your best bet

: isasmaller condom. Just enough :
: room means youre at a medium,
: and if the cardboard tube is too

: tight for you, opt fora large.”

: more confident, you head back
: to the sexual health aisle. You:
: purchase what you need; regular, :

As you lick the ice cream

pregnancy and contracting a
sexually transmitted infection

Feeling rather bloated, but

: : latex, lubricated condoms
: from your spoon, you think back :
: to your recent sexual encounter
: and decide he’s probably got

: an average-size penis, so you

: settle on “medium.” In the

: language of condoms, this

: translates to “regular.” Most

: condoms are sold in this size,

: which also fit smaller-sized

: men. However, Durex sells a

: size smaller and labels it “snug.”
: Other sizes for most brands

: include “large,” and “XL.” For

: more information look for size

: charts at CondomMonologues.
: com. It’simportant togetthe  :
: right size because you don’t want :
: the condom to fall off inside

: your partner if it’s too big, or

: bust open because it’s too tight.
: In either situation, you risk

because you also read that

: lubrication prevents breakage,
: while latex and polyurethane
: protect against STIs and HIV.

As you leave past the

: gumball machines, you feel

: uneasy because even though

: you found so much information
: about condoms on the Internet,
: you're now wondering if you

: even know how to use them

: properly. Better pay attention to
: next week’s article.

Stop HIV now. Wear a

condom that fits.

Come down to the Purpose
Society testing clinic at 40

: Begbie Street in New West the

: first and third Friday of the

: month from a.m. to1 p.m.

: for anonymous and rapid HIV

: testing and STI and HCV testing.
: We also provide vaccines, free

: harm reduction supplies, and

: condoms! You can also get your

: questions answered by emailing
: sexyquestions@purposesociety.

org