Brain flushes out waste toxins that are accumulated during the day while sleeping, a latest study states.
Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) for Translational Neuromedicine said that the primary reason behind sleep is that it clears all the unwanted toxins. They further found that this cleansing process also removes toxins responsible for Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders.
The study authors conducted a test on mice. They studied the brain images of these mice and examined the 'plumbing system' of the brain that is used to remove waste during sleep. This is known as the glymphatic system.
The researchers found that while asleep this system is ten times more active, also the size of the cells in the brain decreases so that the waste removal is faster.
"The brain only has limited energy at its disposal and it appears that it must choice between two different functional states - awake and aware or asleep and cleaning up. You can think of it like having a house party. You can either entertain the guests or clean up the house, but you can't really do both at the same time," lead study author, Dr Maiken Nedergaard, said.
He further said that the finding is important as it will prove helpful in understanding the treatment for 'dirty brain' diseases such as Alzheimer's. "Understanding precisely how and when the brain activates the glymphatic system and clears waste is a critical first step in efforts to potentially modulate this system and make it work more efficiently," she said.
