`Deep sleep, not brain, switches on puberty` Washington: Slow-
wave or deep sleep may be the controlling factor in the onset of
puberty, rather than the involvement of any brain part in this
process, says a US study. Previous studies have shown that the
parts of the brain that control puberty first become active
during sleep, but the present study shows that it is deep sleep,
rather than sleep in general, that is linked with this activity.
"If the parts of the brain that activate the reproductive system
depend on deep sleep, then we need to be concerned that
inadequate or disturbed sleep in children and young adolescents
may interfere with normal pubertal maturation," said Harvard
researcher Natalie Shaw, of Massachusetts General Hospital and
Boston Children`s Hospital, who led the study. "This is
particularly true for children who have been diagnosed with
sleep disorders, but may also have more widespread implications
as recent studies have found that most adolescents get less
sleep than they require," the Jo