Health Zone : What Sleeping Does To Your Brain

Research have shown that the brain uses sleep to wash away the waste toxins built up during a hard day’s thinking.

“Waste removal system” is one of the fundamental reasons for sleep, the team of U.S. researchers believe.

Their study, in the journal Science, showed brain cells shrink during sleep to open up the gaps between neurons and allow fluid to wash the brain clean.

They also suggest that failing to clear away some toxic proteins may play a role in brain disorders.

“The brain only has limited energy at its disposal and it appears that it must choose between two different functional states – awake and aware or asleep and cleaning up,” said researcher Dr Maiken Nedergaard.

“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.”