Whether it’s on a plane or in a hospital waiting room, some of us have a hard time sleeping in unfamiliar places. Surely comfort can be an issue in confined, unconventional spaces, like a rigid airport chair. But even the most comfortable and cozy hotel rooms present a battle to humans worldwide. Many of us struggle to get a good night of rest in any new place. This phenomenon, known as the First Night Effect (FNE), impacts numerous humans and some animals. But what’s happening inside our brains during these troubled first nights?
The first registered experiment about FNE was more than 50 years ago, and still today scientists don’t fully understand it. A 2016 study published in Current Biology revealed that during a first night sleeping somewhere new, brain hemispheres don't fall asleep equally. Usually, in familiar places, both the left and the right side of the brain fall ...
