Researchers have found out that during deep sleep our brain releases all the daily toxins produced during the course of the day. During deep sleep, there is a reduced activity in our brain and the cerebral spinal fluid moves in and out of the brain flushing out all the waste products.
Among the waste products released from the brain is a protein called beta-amyloid which is found in abnormally high quantities in people suffering from dementia. The researcher’s main aim was to show why people who sleep less have a higher chance of suffering from cardiac problems, dementia, and depression.
Till now the scientists have known that the cerebral spinal fluid helps our brain to release all the waste products and this process sped up during sleep.
A test was conducted on 11 adults used MRI to monitor the flow of the cerebral spinal fluid in the brain and used electroencephalograms to monitor the electrical activity of the nerve cells. During deep sleep, there is a slowdown in the metabolic activity if the brain, heartbeat and blood flow. All this helps the fluid in the brain to wash off the waste products from the brain and also helps in memory consolidation.
The study also illustrates why deep sleep is necessary to lead a healthy life. It is due to less sleep that many people suffer from various diseases. It also keeps the neurons healthy as during the period of low activity they get to rest which facilitates the removal of the toxic chemicals from the brain.
The study clearly shows that people sleeping less than a minimum stipulated time have high amounts of various toxic chemicals and proteins in the brain which keep on accumulating in the neural cavities. This reduces the working efficiency of the nerve cells as they are not able to transfer the signals quickly. As a result, we tend to suffer from hallucinations and memory loss.