Sleep is the Ultimate Brain Fuel: To Cleanse, Recharge and Reboot ~ Dr. Domenico Pratico', MD, FCPP

Sleep is the ultimate brain fuel to cleanse, recharge and reboot. Learn about the power and necessity of quality sleep.

The role of sleep in human health has always been somewhat underestimated and little understood, only in recent years are we starting to understand the relationship that exists between sleep and health. Quality sleep is really the ultimate brain fuel.

Quality sleep is vital.

For instance, new research indicates that sleep is the principal driver of brain waste clearance occurring during the NREM phase of sleep (which includes deep sleep, slow wave, known as stage N3) via a recently described system called “the glymphatic system”. Sleep is vital for our brain, just as food water and air are for our body.

The brain glymphatic system is something like the brain’s plumbing system which consists of an intricate network of vessels and channels specialized in transporting mainly water (specifically through the transporter called aquaporin-4, AQP4) alongside the classical blood vessels (arteries and veins) of the brain to drain chemical waste and facilitate movement of the fluid that normally surround this organ (cerebrospinal fluid). Because it can eliminate waste, we could almost compare it to the sewer system of an organ, in this case the brain. For more insights read this from the University of Rochester.

The glymphatic system cleanses our brain.

Interestingly, other studies demonstrated that activation of nerve cells (aka neurons) can also stimulate significantly the glymphatic waste clearance. By contrast, blocking the activation of these cells can reduce or even prevent waste clearance of the brain. In this sense we could think of neurons as the cleaners or master conductors for the brain.

Indeed, most of the available scientific evidence supports that one of the major functions of the brain during sleep is waste clearance of itself, the brain, through the glymphatic system. Clearance of various toxic proteins, like β-amyloid protein, phosphorylated tau protein is critical to brain health. A study showed that just one night of sleep deprivation can easily result in substantial increase in β-amyloid accumulation, in regions of the brain linked to Alzheimer’s disease.

On a chronic basis, poor sleep is prospectively linked to the risk and progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Thus, in a study with almost 8,000 participants, with a 25-year follow-up, people aged < 50 or 60 years having 6 hours of sleep or less had a < 20%  increased risk of developing late-onset dementia.

Like other systems, as we age, the efficiency of the glymphatic system may also slowly decline and also as sleep gets disrupted, there are more arousals, and less neuronal activation. The aging brain tends to accumulate more waste, which could lead to buildup of unwanted material. The accumulation of β-amyloid and tau leads to sleep disturbance and dysregulation of circadian rhythm. On the other hand, reduced asleep has been linked to the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Together these facts would then support a bidirectional influence which triggers a vicious loop, considering that less sleep leads to accumulation of toxic proteins, and the toxic proteins can then interfere with sleep.

Our brain needs sleep!

Finally, I would like to dispel a common myth about sleep: “if you sleep less for a certain period of time you can recuperate the lost sleep by sleeping more later on”. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

In summary, sleep keeps our brain “cleaner” and makes our brain age a bit slower. For all these reasons, today we can easily say that sleep is something that our body needs like water, air and food.

So, let’s not deprive our body and brain of this essential element for life.  Love your brain, love your sleep!

If you are interested in reading more of my blogs:

Check out the recent blog: Caregiver Burnout  ~ Dr. Domenico Pratico', MD, FCPP

Dr. Domenico Pratico' , MD, FCPP

Domenico Praticò, MD, holds the Scott Richards North Star Charitable Foundation Chair for Alzheimer’s Research and serves as a Professor and Founding Director of the Alzheimer’s Center at Temple, as well as a Professor of Neural Sciences at Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University.

For more information on the research conducted by Dr. Domenico Pratico, please visit this link.

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Stay updated with the work happening at Dr. Domenico Pratico's lab by visiting the Pratico Lab website.