Scientists, after being puzzled by the nature of sleep for centuries, are finally starting to understand what happens with the brain during the sleep cycle. Part of the reason we sleep is to give the body's cells a chance to re- energize and let the brain clear out waste. The brain also uses this time to manage mood, memory, appetite and libido, according to researchers at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center. Here are more details, based on recent scientific discoveries, on what happens to your brain while you sleep.
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Two Types of Sleep
The two types of sleep are slow-wave sleep (SWS), which reflects a state of deep sleep, and rapid eye movement (REM), which is associated with dreaming. During SWS, brainwaves and deep breathing slow down while muscles in the body relax. But this phase doesn't mean the brain's functions shut down. It actually stays busy, much the way a stage director keeps a show moving at a theater even when the audience falls asleep. The control center inside our heads executes a series of sleep stages as two groups of cells known as the ventrolateral preoptic nucleus and the parafacial zone activate the shift to loss of consciousness.
Following the SWS stage, REM sleep takes over, commanded by subcoeruleus nucleus cells in the brain stem. In this stage dreams are processed while much of REM remains a mystery, even to scientists who specialize in biochemistry and neurobiology.
Cleaning Out Toxins
During sleep the brain rids itself of harmful toxins rapidly with the help of cerebrospinal fluid that washes away waste proteins, according to scientists who study mice. They believe that this process may help prevent Alzheimer's. Dr. Maiken Nedergaard at the University of Rochester, who has conducted these mice studies, says the complex organ inside the skull acts like a dishwasher. This theory may explain why the mind lacks clarity after a sleepless night and how extended periods without sleep can be fatal to an animal or human.
Dr. Nedergaard speculates that the reason this cleaning activity doesn't happen all day is that it requires plenty of energy. The study has also been done on rats and baboons, but not yet on humans. Nevertheless, the reason scientists like Dr. Nedergaard believe that this brain-cleansing activity can help them study Alzheimer's is because one of the discarded waste products during sleep is beta amyloid, which is related to the disease.
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