I always enjoy reading The Body Odd column on msnbc.com, and this past week they had an interesting article about how the brain may cope with sleep deprivation.

They describe a study of rats at the University of Wisconsin at Madison that attempted to assess the electrical function of the brain, as measured by EEG, during periods of sleep deprivation. This was accomplished by planting electrodes at the surface of and deep within the brain, sleep depriving the rats, and then challenging them with tasks.

The results suggest that even while appearing fully awake, parts of the rats' brains shifted into sleep when they were sleep deprived. This was especially noticeable when they struggled with the tasks.

This is consistent with prior studies that suggest that various regions of the brain can be in different sleep stages. It also raises concern for job performance (and even safety) in humans who aren't getting a good night's rest.

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You may have heard that men think about sex every seven seconds, but a new study suggests that this might not be their only distraction. In fact, researchers suggest that they think more often about food and sleep as well.

According to the study, college-aged men thought about sex 18 times in a day compared to 10 times among women, hardly every seven seconds. However, the men thought about sleep and food proportionately more often, too. The suggestion is that men think more often about their bodies, and that this extends to various carnal needs.

What do you think? Do men focus on their needs more than women? Are the men in your life focused on sex, food, and sleep? Share your response in the comments below.

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In an interesting discovery, researchers report in the journal Heart that the timing of heart attacks may predict the amount of damage that results, perhaps suggesting a relationship to circadian rhythms.

The study included 811 patients in Madrid from 2003 to 2009. The results reveal that patients who have heart attacks between 6 a.m. and noon have 21 percent more damage to their hearts, as measured by enzymes that are released. Previous studies also suggest that more heart attacks occur in the morning.

The timing suggests a possible role for the body's natural biological clock called the circadian rhythm. Each cell of the body, including heart cells, have a mechanism to coordinate energy use and activity with the natural light-dark cycle. It may be that natural variations in protein levels have a role in the degree of damage that occurs with heart attacks.

The relationship between disease and circadian rhythms is a developing research field, with much to learn about this complex interplay.

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In order to continue to address factual inaccuracies that I encounter in the media, I consider a suggestion from Today Health and Prevention that struck me as odd.

As part of their series "Spring clean your life", they suggest that "sealing a house too tightly doesn't allow the entry of new oxygen or the escape of carbon dioxide that you exhale. As a result, your body doesn't get the amount of oxygen it needs, and you end up feeling tired and lethargic." This is attributed to Matthew Waletzke, a certified building biology consultant in Long Island, NY.

I do not profess an expertise in buildings, but I suspect that you cannot seal your house so tightly as to cause such a phenomenon. Most homes are a little drafty (suggesting air circulation). Moreover, houses often have an "air intake" that prevents a vacuum from being created as you pump air from your furnace to other parts of the house.

Moreover, the medical science (for which I do have credentials and expertise) is suspicious. It is possible to increase the carbon dioxide in your blood (sometimes called CO2 narcosis) and become sleepy. However, this typically implies a significant lung disease such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or emphysema. Other medical conditions might also lead to it, but it is unlikely to result from your sleep environment, no matter how tightly you might close your doors and windows. I certainly know of no scientific research that demonstrates such an association.

If you are feeling tired or lethargic, perhaps instead it is due to inadequate sleep or a sleep disorder. That seems about right.

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