Sleep triggers built-in garbage disposal system in our brains, startling study shows
Representative photo showing a human brain
Scientists have just disclosed a built-in garbage disposal system in our brain that becomes super-active when we are asleep and pushes out all the junk, and debris from our brain tissues. Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis revealed how this system works in a new study, emphasising the need to get sleep at least eight hours every day.
Why do we need this system?
According to scientists, our brain tissues use energy, and fuel to help us solve problems and memorising things. As the process takes place, some sort of debris is left behind.
When we sleep, a process is triggered which ends up removing the debris from brain tissues. The neurons use rhythmic waves to help move cerebrospinal fluid through brain tissue, thus flushing away the debris with it. This process is called the glymphatic system. The debris is flushed away through channels located near blood vessels.
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So, if we want to take out the trash from our brains on regular basis, we must ensure we are sleeping for at least eight hours daily.
“Neurons serve as master organisers for brain clearance,” the WUSTL research team said in a study recently published in Nature.
How was the study conducted?
The scientists used engineered mice to experiment. The mice were engineered to eliminate neuronal activity so that no brain junk is formed in the tissues.
It was observed that slow brain waves were seen before being undetectable in these engineered mice. The fluid was not pushed to clear the metabolic waste as the glymphatic system didn’t start. It made clear that neurons had to be active in order for the brain’s self-cleaning cycle to work.
On the other hand, non-engineered mice exhibited faster waves, in order to move the fluid to remove the metabolic waste.
The team also highlighted why previous studies on the same matter didn’t show the same results.
“The experimental methodologies we used here largely avoid acute damage to the brain parenchyma, thereby providing valuable strategies for further investigations into neural dynamics and brain clearance,” the team said in the same study.
(With inputs from agencies)