Doctors warn about the sleep they fear most: Your brain shutting down without you knowing

Microsleep is a brief, involuntary shutdown of the brain lasting 1–30 seconds, often arriving with tiny dream-like flashes and no warning. Anaesthesiologist Dr Myro Figura describes it as the brain “blacking out” after severe sleep deprivation, a danger linked to thousands of road crashes. Sleep clinics warn that inconsistent sleep, long wakeful hours and late-night driving make these episodes far more likely.