Why We Wake Up Groggy Away From Home

I've always wondered why, haven't you? Is it the booze? Do I miss my pillow? Is it because the bed is lumpy?

Does this weekend find you over the river and thru the woods to some place that isn't your home? Will you sleep soundly while you are away, or will you toss and turn and wake up feeling like sh*t?

Turns out, you aren't alone. Sleep experts are weighing in to say you aren't just imagining that you wake up groggy after sleeping someplace other than your own bed. In a story from CBSNews.com, researchers found that one hemisphere of the brain stays awake on the first night people sleep away from home.

You can read the full study in Current Biology. It really is pretty wild, like "animal" wild! The author of the study says we might have a mini version of the part of some animals' brains that wants to "keep watch" through the night when we sleep in an unfamiliar place.

WOW. I do that. I almost sleep with one eye open when I'm not in my own home, thinking weirdo thoughts of what's under the bed, lurking in the closet, etc. Phew, thought I was losing it, or maybe drinking too much. I love when science tells me differently.

Listen to Pam Brooks weekdays from 10-3PM on 95.1 FM, online at i95rock.com/listen-live/ or by downloading the radioPup app for your mobile device.