Your brain ‘takes a bath’ while you sleep

For some, sleeping well can almost be considered a privilege. It is everyone’s wish to lie down, rest, and pass out for eight hours. But more than a will, sleeping is a mustEspecially considering the latest research on brain hygiene habits.

Our body has a “filtering pathway” called the lymphatic system that filters out foreign substances, but this system does not exist in the brain, at least not in the same way. So how does it eliminate waste?

The answer may be closely linked to sleep. It’s as if, while sleeping, the brain finally has time for itself, takes a relaxing bath, cleans away the dirt created by the stressful and chaotic day, and then compartmentalizes and stores what’s important.

Let’s give some more information This way, your brain has something to work with the next morning after a sleep-dependent detox..

What I missed was sleep

From a biochemical perspective, the famous association of “work while they sleep” couldn’t be more wrong. Sleep is necessary for the preservation and flawless functioning of all organic and cognitive functions..

It is not yet known exactly which mechanisms trigger the inherent need for sleep in all living things, but anyone who has been forced to experience some form of sleep deprivation certainly knows that after a while it becomes impossible to maintain it. any coherent thought.

The act of sleeping looks like this: reset in all our systems. During sleep, our body triggers reparative actions that contribute to hormonal balance, regulation and preservation of memories, muscle relaxation and a slight decrease in the functions of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, as well as lowering our body temperature and all this contributes to the better effectiveness of restoration. process. .

But another important function of sleep was first identified in a study published in Science Magazine in mid-2012. Researchers found that sleep plays an important role in our brain hygieneIt contributes to the functioning of the self-cleaning system called Glymphatic.

The brain has no way of its own to eliminate the products of cellular metabolism, and it was not known whether this clearance system was actually necessary or how our “parent” organ achieved this clearance.

Consider an isolated area with no doors, windows or vents. Everything is made airtight and completely free from any external influences. In principle, something this isolated will also be free of debris and dirt, but if you have a corner in your house that you can’t vacuum, that doesn’t mean it’s clean.

The brain is like that. For a long time it was believed that it did not produce anything that required general cleaning. However, we know that neurons and astrocytes, which are nervous system cells, are not immortal.Additionally, metabolism is required for each of these components to function, which will produce waste.

What the 2012 study did was describe the first impressions of a self-cleaning system that uses tiny spaces between arteries in the subarachnoid membrane that are in contact with the terminal part of the astrocytes. This small area seems more permeable, allowing cerebrospinal fluid to enter and filter, eliminating impurities produced in the brain.

So how does this liquid get there? How does he get around? So what does this have to do with sleep? Part of the answer came in a post by Revista Cell in 2025.

sleep cleansing

Researchers monitor the brain functions of guinea pigs through implanted electrodes during natural sleep. That is, they watched how the mice’s brains behaved during the animals’ sleep.

It was important for the animals to enter a state of sleep naturally and without drug stimulation. Thus, more accurate conclusions can be drawn about how cleaning is done during sleep..

The data showed that during sleep, there is contraction and dilation of blood vessels stimulated by the peak of norepinephrine during the non-REM sleep state. This change in neurotransmitter concentration occurred in intervals of about 50 seconds and caused a type of pumping of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), pushing it to be captured and filtered in the Glymphatic System.

When researchers encourage this Locus coeruleus, By reducing the peak range of the neurotransmitter, a group of specialized neurons in the brainstem responsible for the production of norepinephrine, there was an increase in the pumping and functioning of the brain’s filtering system.

And this whole process seems to occur much more effectively in the non-REM sleep phase, when there is a decrease in brain activity, when during REM sleep it ceases to be less effective and active, neuronal activity closer to the current state. to wake up. In order for the brain cleansing magic to happen, you must be getting the right sleep.

It is a bath of blood and CSF, but it is necessary to send the correct commands to other systems in our body, as well as to ensure that our brain can eliminate toxins, unwanted proteins, and maintain the proper functioning of all cognitive and memory functions. .

According to studies within the scope of the same research, Failures in this self-clearing process may be associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and others. Types of problems related to the accumulation of proteins, metabolic waste and degeneration of neurons and glial cells.

And it’s not worth sleeping at any cost. Remember how I said researchers looked at mice during natural sleep? But they went further and tested whether the same self-clearing effects occurred during Zolpidem-induced sleep. I’ll give you a chance to guess.

Use of Zolpidem in guinea pigs Showed a significant reduction in the brain’s self-cleaning capacity. The hypothesis for this phenomenon is that the drug interferes with the brain’s ability to experience all stages of sleep and interferes with the duration of each stage; This means that the body does not have the “normal” preparation time for the entire sleep phase. The process can be carried out satisfactorily.

This does not mean that use of the drug should be stopped, but more studies are needed to understand the true impact of this process and prevent users from experiencing health complications later in life.

The entire sleeping area and its functions are constantly being researched and there is still a long way to go, but here’s the clue: Let your brain take a relaxing bath and get a good night’s sleep.

If you want some tips to sleep better, how about starting with this position? Sleep hygiene techniques can greatly help you have more enjoyable nights and experience the benefits of restorative sleep.

Stay tuned to TecMundo for more content that deserves to be stored in your long-term memory while you sleep. Sweet dreams and see you next time!