It might be worth trying a little harder to get that much-needed, but elusive, quality sleep.
Just like a “dishwasher” cleans dirty dishes and glasses, deep sleep clears your mind of junk, suggests a just-published study – and more. there is.
The findings also provide insight into how sleeping pills can disrupt “brainwashing” systems and affect people's cognitive functions in the long term.
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The study's lead author, Professor Miken Nedergaard from the University of Rochester and the University of Copenhagen, said norepinephrine (a neurotransmitter and hormone) causes blood vessels to constrict, creating a slow pulsation that causes a rhythmic flow of fluid in the surrounding body. He said it would produce waste products and carry away waste products, news agency SWNS said. he pointed out.
Dr. Nedergaard says, “It's like turning on the dishwasher before going to bed and waking up with a clean brain. … We essentially ask what drives this process and try to understand this 'green'. They attempt to define restorative sleep based on “phatic clearance.''
Scientists say the brain has a built-in waste removal process called the glymphatic system, which circulates fluids within the brain and spinal cord to remove waste.
This process helps remove toxic proteins that form sticky plaques associated with neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's disease.
However, according to the study results, the scientists noted that what drives this system is so far unknown.
Is all sleep produced equal? Researchers wanted to know.
As SWNS reported on the study, Nedergaard and her team looked at what happens in mouse brains when they sleep to find clues. The research team focused on the relationship between norepinephrine and blood flow during deep sleep.
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They found that norepinephrine waves correlated with changes in cerebral blood volume. This suggests that norepinephrine causes rhythmic pulsations within blood vessels. The researchers then compared changes in blood volume to brain fluid flow.
Brain fluid flow fluctuates in response to changes in blood volume, suggesting that blood vessels function as pumps that propel surrounding brain fluid and remove waste products.
“You can think of noradrenaline like this: [the] conductor of the orchestra. ”
She added: “The contraction and expansion of the arteries are coordinated, allowing cerebrospinal fluid to flow through the brain and remove waste products.”
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Haugland said she wants to understand whether all sleep is created equal.
To find out, the research team administered zolpidem, a common drug that helps sleep, to mice.
“If people are not getting the maximum benefit from their sleep, they need to be aware of that so they can make informed decisions.”
They found that noradrenaline waves during deep sleep were 50% lower in zolpidem-treated mice than in naturally sleeping mice.
SWNS reports that mice treated with zolpidem fell asleep faster, but fluid transport to the brain was reduced by more than 30%.
Researchers say their findings, published in the journal Cell, suggest that sleep aids may interfere with norepinephrine's removal of waste products during sleep.
“More and more people are using sleeping pills, and it's really important to know if it's healthy sleep,” Haugland said. We need to be aware of that so we can make informed decisions.” ”
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The researchers said that although further testing is needed, the findings are likely to apply to humans with the glymphatic system.
Nedergaard added: “Now that we know that noradrenaline promotes brain cleansing, we may find ways to help people get longer, more restorative sleep.”
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On the other hand, lack of sleep may have more negative effects than just making you feel groggy.
It may be interfering with your brain's ability to keep intrusive thoughts at bay.
Another new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that sleep deprivation weakens the brain's defenses against unwanted memories, causing them to flood the mind. New York Post.
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“We showed that sleep deprivation disrupts prefrontal inhibition of memory retrieval and that overnight recovery of this inhibitory mechanism is associated with time spent in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.”Science said the people.
Maureen McKee is the lifestyle editor at Fox News Digital.