(Reuters Health) – During deep sleep, the brain may be tidying up the detritus that accumulates during a hard day of thinking, a recent study suggests.
Researchers have found that during slow-wave sleep in particular – the type of slumber sandwiched between periods of dreaming – a sort of cleaning fluid pulses into the brain, taking out the trash as it recedes, according to a report published in Science, October 31.
Using high speed brain imaging, the researchers were able to map out a series of events that occur as the brain enters deep sleep and brain waves start to slow and synchronize.
They found that the blood flow to the brain diminishes, allowing for an influx of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), washing away the day’s detritus of proteins and other waste substances that might harm the brain if they aren’t cleared out.
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/920963?src=wnl_edit_tpal&uac=1776MZ&impID=2161771&faf=1
