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　　Why It's Harder to Sleep in New Place

　　Have you ever had trouble sleeping in a new place?

　　Lots of people do. And now researchers from BrownUniversity in Rhode Island think they know why.

　　They found that one-half of the brain "remains moreawake" than the other half when people are trying tosleep in a new place.

　　This appears a case of the brain keeping people ready for trouble in a new place, theresearchers said.

　　The sleep findings were reported in Current Biology and by Brown University.

　　In their report, the researchers said many people report they have a harder time sleeping thefirst night at a hotel or other places outside their home.

　　They call it, "first-night effect."

　　"In Japan they say, ‘if you change your pillow, you can't sleep,''' said Yuka Sasaki, one of thereport's authors. "You don't sleep very well in a new place. We all know about it."

　　The researchers measured brain waves for 35 volunteers over two nights in a laboratory. Thetwo nights were a week apart.

　　They found during the first night the left hemisphere of the brain was more active than theright hemisphere. This was during the first deep-sleep period, the researchers said.

　　Sasaki said a lot of questions remain.

　　Researchers did not keep measuring brain waves all night long. So, they don't know if the lefthemisphere keeps "watch" all night. Or whether it "works in shifts" with the right hemispherelater in the night.

　　They also do not know why the extra brain activity, at least during the first phase of deepsleep, is always on the left hemisphere.

　　For some, this research may be calming. It is good to know that our brain is "looking out forus," in a new place.

　　But it may not help with sleep. That extra brain activity, at least according to this new research,makes it harder to get the sleep people need to wake up well rested in the morning.

　　I'm Bruce Alpert.