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.
It
has been shown to have a big role in the fixing of memories in the brain and
learning,
but a team at the University of Rochester Medical Centre believe
that “housework” may
be one of the primary reasons for sleep.
“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.”

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