Sleep, a surprising hack for a better brain.

Who doesn’t want a better brain, faster, smarter?

Have you ever wished that you could squeeze more out of your day by sleeping less? Have you ever experienced ‘brain fog’? That fuzzy state where you know you are awake, but your brain is offline or struggling to process thoughts, words and conversations? If you have flown across time zones and know the feeling of jet lag you will know what brain fog feels like. If your sleep has been disturbed multiple times by an unhappy or unwell child, you will have experienced brain fog. Perhaps you are a shift worker, or you are struggling with insomnia.

This article will delve into the pivotal role sleep plays in clearing toxins from your brain. A build-up of toxins in your brain is a fast track to lack of vitality both now and into the future. It’s a risk factor in falling victim to early onset Alzheimer’s.

In 2012 researcher at the University of Rochester made a ground breaking discovery. Let me explain. You know that every cell in your body needs nutrients to survive and produces waste. Your lymphatic system helps with waste removal throughout the body however your brain does not have lymph vessels.

You may be surprised to know that your brain accounts for only 2 percent of your body’s mass however it uses one quarter (25 percent) of your body’s energy. In other words, it’s a busy energy hungry machine. If it uses loads of energy it must produce significant waste.

One waste product your brain produces is amyloid beta. A build-up of amyloid beta is associated with plaques which are found int eh brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease.

The surprising discovery the researchers made was that when you sleep your brain gets busy doing ‘housework’. Dr Jeff Iliff in his TEDMED talk uses the analogy of what happens if you don’t do the dishes. They pile up and if you left them all for a month you would have a very messy and potentially unhealthy kitchen.

At night, when you thought your brain may have been resting it is clearing waste. CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) is flushed through your brain removing wastes including amyloid beta. How cool is that? I wouldn’t mind a magic fairy who appeared in my house while I slept to sweep away the dust and debris of the day, wash the dishes, mop the floor.

More recent research indicates that waste removal from the brain is most effective in deep non-REM sleep. In non-science speak this means quality restorative sleep.

If this has got you thinking that you would like more plentiful deep sleep to protect your brain you probably know it’s best to have a consistent bed time and wake time, to sleep in a cool dark room devoid of electronic devices, avoid screen time at least an hour before bedtime and immerse yourself in nature and natural light during the day. Remember that caffeine and alcohol can also negatively effect sleep quality and quantity.

 

I’m reminded of Benjamin Franklin’s old saying, “Early to bed, and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise”. Sleep not only supports robust health and vitality it enhances your chances of success, reduces stress and makes you look better. On that note, “Good night”, I’m off to the blanket show.

Who doesn’t want a better brain, faster, smarter, ????

 

Have you ever wished that you could squeeze more out of your day by sleeping less? Have you ever experienced ‘brain fog’? That fuzzy state where you know you are awake, but your brain is offline or struggling to process thoughts, words and conversations? If you have flown across time zones and know the feeling of jet lag you will know what brain fog feels like. If your sleep has been disturbed multiple times by an unhappy or unwell child, you will have experienced brain fog. Perhaps you are a shift worker, or you are struggling with insomnia.

This article will delve into the pivotal role sleep plays in clearing toxins from your brain. A build-up of toxins in your brain is a fast track to lack of vitality both now and into the future. It’s a risk factor in falling victim to early onset Alzheimer’s

In 2012 researcher at the University of Rochester made a ground breaking discovery. Let me explain. You know that every cell in your body needs nutrients to survive and produces waste. Your lymphatic system helps with waste removal throughout the body however your brain does not have lymph vessels.

You may be surprised to know that your brain accounts for only 2 percent of your body’s mass however it uses one quarter (25 percent) of your body’s energy. In other words, it’s a busy energy hungry machine. If it uses loads of energy it must produce significant waste.

One waste product your brain produces is amyloid beta. A build-up of amyloid beta is associated with plaques which are found int eh brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease.

The surprising discovery the researchers made was that when you sleep your brain gets busy doing ‘housework’. Dr Jeff Iliff in his TEDMED talk uses the analogy of what happens if you don’t do the dishes. They pile up and if you left them all for a month you would have a very messy and potentially unhealthy kitchen.

At night, when you thought your brain may have been resting it is clearing waste. CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) is flushed through your brain removing wastes including amyloid beta. How cool is that? I wouldn’t mind a magic fairy who appeared in my house while I slept to sweep away the dust and debris of the day, wash the dishes, mop the floor.

More recent research indicates that waste removal from the brain is most effective in deep non-REM sleep. In non-science speak this means quality restorative sleep.

If this has got you thinking that you would like more plentiful deep sleep to protect your brain you probably know it’s best to have a consistent bed time and wake time, to sleep in a cool dark room devoid of electronic devices, avoid screen time at least an hour before bedtime and immerse yourself in nature and natural light during the day. Remember that caffeine and alcohol can also negatively effect sleep quality and quantity.

I’m reminded of Benjamin Franklin’s old saying, “Early to bed, and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise”. Sleep not only supports robust health and vitality it enhances your chances of success, reduces stress and makes you look better. On that note, “Good night”, I’m off to the blanket show.