How Sleep Rewires Survival Reflexes

Did you know your body completely rewires its survival reflexes the moment you fall asleep?

Take the cough reflex: when you're awake, an irritation in your throat triggers a cough to protect

your airway. But during sleep, that same irritation is transformed into a fundamentally

different response: apnea, where you actually stop breathing for a moment.

Researchers call this a state-dependent response reversal. Your brain's sleep-wake circuits essentially

"gate" the motor output, choosing to briefly halt breathing rather than allow a violent

cough that would disrupt your rest. It’s a biological trade-off where the brain prioritises

the continuity of sleep over traditional protective actions. We explore the strange and sometimes dangerous