Really interesting 3 part podcast with an MD and a neuroscientist sleep expert <a href="https://peterattiamd.com/matthewwalker1/" rel="nofollow">https://peterattiamd.com/matthewwalker1/</a><p>They dicsuss the glymphatic system's role in sleep, the many many detrimental effects of sleep too little sleep, the link between sleep and Alzheimer's, and all sorts of awesome stuff.<p>I actually got a sleep study and was diagnosed with sleep apnea after I listened to this episode and had the wits scared out of me about my sleep hygeine. :)
Sometimes after sleeping, especially after a good night's sleep, I have a feeling that my brain has been scrubbed clean. It physically feels "fresh", similar to the feeling of having brushed my teeth. Not totally sure if it's not just my imagination, but I like to think there's some science behind it :)
Does this "waste" accumulate indefinitely if you are constantly lacking sleep, or does it get flushed out in full every night you get a good night's sleep? So say I had a crappy sleep schedule for 3 days, but on the 4th day I slept a lot and feel very rested. Did the last night's cleaning take care of all the accumulated waste?
Sleeping on one's right side can exacerbate acid reflux (which can increase your risk for throat / esophageal cancer).<p>So, taken together with this, sleeping on the left side seems ideal.
To maximize glymphatic toxin clearing the lateral sleeping position is currently recommended.<p>1. <a href="https://neurosciencenews.com/lateral-sleep-position-neurology-2363/amp/" rel="nofollow">https://neurosciencenews.com/lateral-sleep-position-neurolog...</a><p>2. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4524974/" rel="nofollow">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4524974/</a>
I am not an expert, so I might be missing something, but is this related to the finding that was reported in 2014 [1]?
Is it the new development that now they have actually observed the glymphatic system at work?<p>[1] [<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/12/opinion/sunday/goodnight-sleep-clean.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/12/opinion/sunday/goodnight-sleep-clean.html)" rel="nofollow">https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/12/opinion/sunday/goodnight-...</a>
I've believed this to be true for a while now, as I've gotten older this has gotten obvious to me.<p>When you're younger everything works so well you don't notice the subtle differences often times. But as I've rounded 40 I've realized just how big a difference good sleep can make.
After having three concussions in the past two years, one just recently—I've taken a keen interest in learning as much as I can about mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).<p>Impairment of glial-lymphatic function is thought to play a role in all manner of neurodegenerative disease, including TBI and mTBI.[0][1][2]<p>My potentially incorrect layperson oversimplification:<p>mTBI in particular is broadly characterized as a loss of homeostasis within the brain, more specifically metabolic dysregulation secondary to primary mechanical injury. When you suffer a concussion, an inflammatory response occurs within the brain. This is useful in the acute phase of injury, but can lead to chronic neuroinflammation if not properly mediated. Oxidative stress secondary to the primary injury can interfere with this process, and what you end up with is a complex biochemical cascade that furthers metabolic dysregulation and loss of homeostasis, resulting in latent neurodegeneration (brain damage). Among those systems impacted by said dysregulation is the glymphatic system.<p>Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) by contrast is a term used to describe brain injury more severe than that of a simple concussion. It's basically everything mTBI is and then some: compromised blood–brain barrier, immune cell infiltration, necrosis, sometimes direct mechanical destruction of brain tissue in the case of open head injuries. It's typically quite horrific.<p>In researching the topic, I've noticed many papers suggest pathologies from Alzheimer's and Parkinson's to CTE may in fact stem from chronic loss of [metabolic] homeostasis within the brain. Whether that's from chronically poor sleep, or hits to your head, the end result is disturbingly similar.<p>In my own experience, the number one thing that has helped me recover after a concussion has been sleep. Usually following an injury I need more of it than normal. It's not hard to imagine the glymphatic system plays a critical role in healing.<p>[0] <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6261373/" rel="nofollow">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6261373/</a><p>[1] <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6034172/" rel="nofollow">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6034172/</a><p>[2] <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28859995" rel="nofollow">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28859995</a>