A new study published in the prestigious journal, Science, has found that the brain may wash away toxins built up over the day during sleep.
The research discovered “hidden caves” inside the brain, which open up during sleep, allowing cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to flush out potential neurotoxins, like β-amyloid, which has been associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
To reach their discovery, researchers injected mice’s brains with a dye and monitored the flow while they were awake, asleep and anaesthetised (Xie et al., 2013).
One of the study’s authors, Dr Maiken Nedergaard, explained the results:
“We were surprised by how little flow there was into the brain when the mice were awake. It suggested that the space between brain cells changed greatly between conscious and unconscious states.”
For a long time the real physiological purpose of sleep has remained a mystery.
We know that lack of sleep causes all kinds of psychological problems like poor learning, decision-making and so on.
We also know that animals that are chronically deprived of sleep will eventually die: flies or rodents in days to weeks, humans within months or years.
Everyone who has ever enjoyed a blissfully good night’s sleep knows just how restorative it can be, but the actual physiological process wasn’t clear.
This study, though, suggests that the flushing out of toxins by the CSF may be central to sleep’s wondrous powers.
The interstitial spaces in the mouse’s brain took up only 14% of the brain’s volume while it was awake. Yet, while it slept, this increased by almost two-thirds to take up fully 23% of the brain’s total volume.
The difference might seem slight, but the actual physiological effects are profound.
During the day, the CSF mostly covers the surface of the brain. During sleep, though, the CSF is able to move deep inside.
The effect is that potential neurotoxins, like β-amyloid, are cleared twice as fast during sleep as during waking.
The results of this study–if they hold in humans–may help to explain why many neurological diseases, like strokes and dementia, are associated with problems sleeping.
It could be that lack of sleep, and restriction of the brain’s cleaning system, may cause toxic metabolites to building up, leading to long-term damage.
→ Related: 10 Sleep Deprivation Effects.
About the author
Psychologist, Jeremy Dean, PhD is the founder and author of PsyBlog. He holds a doctorate in psychology from University College London and two other advanced degrees in psychology.
He has been writing about scientific research on PsyBlog since 2004. He is also the author of the book “Making Habits, Breaking Habits” (Da Capo, 2003) and several ebooks:
- Accept Yourself: How to feel a profound sense of warmth and self-compassion
- The Anxiety Plan: 42 Strategies For Worry, Phobias, OCD and Panic
- Spark: 17 Steps That Will Boost Your Motivation For Anything
- Activate: How To Find Joy Again By Changing What You Do
Image credit: HaoJan Chang
→ This post is part of a series on the 10 Most Awe-Inspiring Neuroscience Studies:
- Connectivity: The Difference Between Men’s and Women’s Brains
- Hidden Caves in the Brain Open Up During Sleep to Wash Away Toxins
- Like to Stay Up Late? Different Neural Structures Found in the Brains of Night Owls
- Debunked: ‘Right-Brain’ and ‘Left-Brain’ Personalities
- Remote Control of the Mind – Over the Internet
- Brain Ultrasound: How Sound Waves Can Boost Mood
- Social Rejection Triggers Release of Natural Painkillers in the Brain
- The Brain “Sees” Objects That You Don’t Perceive
- Childhood Poverty and Stress Harms Adult Brain Function
- Neuroscience Reveals The Deep Power of Human Empathy