![]() ![]() Yet in this study, the researchers observed something striking: the blood vessels in the brain constricted and dilated in patterns unique to each sleep stage of the entire sleep cycle, including deep sleep, REM sleep and even the brief awakenings that pepper our nightly sleep and are a natural part of a sleep cycle.ĭuring deep sleep the arteries slowly dilated and constricted, but as the mice transitioned to REM sleep these oscillations became smaller while the artery slowly dilated. Up until now, it was believed that it was only deep sleep that was involved in this cleansing of waste products. Not only deep sleep is important for ridding the brain of waste These movements probably pump fluids around the brain when we are asleep, cleansing the brain of waste substances. Such movements were not observed in awake mice. They discovered that the blood vessels in the brain, specifically the arteries, dilated and constricted in certain patterns while the mice were sleeping. ![]() The researchers had the mice sleeping naturally and then examined what was going on in their brains using an advanced laser microscope. Therefor movement of the blood vessels could affect this process. Waste products from the brain are cleared along specialized tunnels around brain blood vessels. Blood vessels in the brain dilate and constrict in certain patterns while we sleep He is the last author of the new article published in Nature Communications. The reason for this is not yet clear”, says Enger, who works at the Institute of Basic Medical Sciences. “The “brainwashing” process is far more efficient when you are asleep than when you are awake. The brain is continually producing waste substances and if too many of them accumulate, it raises the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. “Brainwashing” or brain waste clearance is a process of removing harmful waste products from the brain. These findings can also help to create strategies to deliver drugs to the brain more efficiently”, explains associate professor Rune Enger at the Letten Centre at the University of Oslo. “Our discoveries can help us find new ways to treat or even prevent Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. ![]()
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