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What Happens in Our Brains When We Sleep?
Are you ready for some new science on sleep that is never talked about?
We all recognize the importance of sleep for our health, but truly grasping why requires understanding what happens in our brains during sleep. This knowledge offers a whole new perspective on how applied neurology, nutrition, movement, hydration, and other factors influence brain health and our overall well-being.
The prevailing hypothesis is that sleep is vital for brain maintenance, serving to clean, repair, and keep the brain healthy and functional.
By the end of this article you will understand why you feel like a slog when you haven't slept well...
Let’s give you some NEW science into sleep and brain health so that when you tell your clients, "You need more sleep," you'll understand and be able to articulate the WHY.
Here is what we will cover sleep, the brain, and the Glymphatic system:
1. The Importance of Sleep and the Glymphatic System
2. What is ‘waste’ in the brain?
3. How does waste get removed?
4. Understanding The Glymphatic System
5. Strategies for Glymphatic Health
6. Increasing Blood Flow In The Brain Though Applied Neurology
7. Improving Glymphatic Function through Sleep, Hydration, and Physical Activity
8. Improving Blood Flow During The Day With Neuro Drills
Key Example: Imagine you run a very busy restaurant without an adequate cleaning staff. Sometimes they show up, but may only clean the kitchen fully one or two times a month.
Your busy, newly opened kitchen, if left neglected for weeks or months, spirals into a cesspool of grimy dishes and festering food waste—a toxic wasteland waiting to happen. With neglect, things begin to break down irreparably, rendering them beyond restoration.
Now, let's look at the lymphatic system's role in maintaining the body's internal cleanliness and order, including within the network of the brain.
What's truly intriguing is the delicate balance between blood flow in the brain, cerebrospinal fluid dynamics, and the pivotal role of astrocytes* in orchestrating this symphony. *Astrocytes are a type of glial cell (in other words: a structural cell, like scaffolding on a building), that assists in the repair of cellular damage within the brain and central nervous system by regulating metabolic processes (such as directing blood flow and removing waste).
When these components operate harmoniously, the lymphatic system can effectively carry out its vital functions, acting as the brain's cleaning crew.
However, any compromise to vascular blood flow, cerebrospinal fluid dynamics, or the health of astrocytes and neurons can spell trouble for the glymphatic system. This is where implementing strategies for daytime brain training and optimizing blood flow becomes paramount.
By taking proactive measures to support this cleaning system, you can play a crucial role in restoring and maintaining the health of this essential system. As health practitioners, this is something we know that we should do, but are you getting a deeper understanding of WHY?
While discussions on glymphatics often center around the benefits of sleep in enhancing its function—given that it operates at only half its efficiency during waking hours compared to sleep—we must recognize the significance of maximizing lymphatic cleaning efficiency during both wakefulness and sleep.
After all, the glymphatic system works twice as hard while we slumber, underscoring the importance of quality rest for overall brain health.
What is ‘waste’ in the brain?
- The point of this glymphatic process is to clean your brain of metabolites...
- Metabolites are waste from the metabolic process, which are leftover pieces of neurotransmitters, urea, lactic acid, misfiled proteins, and stuff the brain doesn't need.
- It’s like all the potato skins left on the floor from peeling 500 potatoes.
How does waste in the brain get removed?
The kitchen analogy revisited:
Imagine running a busy restaurant kitchen without adequate cleaning staff; over time, the workspace becomes cluttered and inefficient. Hiring someone to clean during busy hours helps but is not optimal.
Similarly, the glymphatic system operates at 50% efficiency during waking hours compared to sleep.
- A majority of the waste in our brain is removed when we sleep, via the Glymphatic system.
- The Glymphatic system's removal of waste involves the interplay between blood flow and cerebrospinal fluid, supported by healthy astrocytes (the scaffolding).
- Astrocytes create space around the blood vessels of the brain, which aid in brain and central nervous system repair by allowing waste products to "flow" alongside the blood vessels, actually using the pulse of our heart rate to help keep this fluid moving in the right direction.
Understanding The Glymphatic System
The kitchen analogy above highlights the importance of regular cleaning and maintenance and represents the role of the Glymphatic system in the brain.
- The Glymphatic system involves the interplay between blood flow and cerebrospinal fluid, supported by healthy astrocytes.
- A compromised Glymphatic system is when blood flow, cerebrospinal fluid, or astrocyte health are compromised, and the Glymphatic system fails to maintain brain cleanliness. When the structure collapses, or blood flow isn't regularly moving through an area, or there isn't enough cerebrospinal fluid moving into an area of the brain... the system can't function well.
- There is a HUGE need for strategies to support brain health and blood flow during waking hours to aid Glymphatic function.
Strategies for Glymphatic Health
Typical advice focuses on getting more sleep to improve Glymphatic function, but we need to make considerations for situations where the system is already impaired and needs restoration.
- This system is SO important to neurological health not only because it clears these metabolites (waste from metabolic processes), but it also helps delivering lipids and fat-soluble vitamins, which the brain needs!
- Increased blood flow can drive glymphatic activity, but ensuring unobstructed drainage is crucial.
- Effective waste clearance requires both increased blood flow and pressure to help open pathways.
Strategy #1: Increasing Blood Flow In The Brain through Applied Neurology
Blood enters the brain from the bottom near the brain stem and cerebellum and moves upward and forward to the frontal lobe.
- Similar to how water moves through a sponge, blood moves through brain tissue, infusing surrounding areas.
- Activating the back of the brain enhances blood flow to the front, improving emotional control, motivation, behavioral inhibition, and cognitive function.
Waste products in the brain are not vented into the air but drain back through the entire brain to the base of the cranium, entering the lymphatic system.
- Blood Flow Dynamics are very important here, because forward blood flow supports lymphatic waste movement backward. In other words, increased blood flow to the front of the brain improves glymphatic system activation and waste clearance.
Strategy #2: Improving Glymphatic Function through Good Sleep & Hydration
These are research highlights and ones that personal trainers, coaches, and therapists have been talking about forever...
- Side sleeping is more effective than sleeping on the back for waste drainage.
- Research suggests side sleeping with the head in a "neutral" position. This promotes optimal cerebral spinal fluid movement and blood flow, enhancing glymphatic activation. That means the head shouldn't be tucked into a fully flexed position or flopped down on the bed without a pillow while side sleeping.
- Adequate sleep duration (7-8 hours) is crucial for glymphatic function.
- Cooler sleeping temperatures and proper hydration also facilitate better glymphatic function.
- Hydration and electrolyte balance are crucial for optimal glymphatic system function... this is because blood flow, cerebrospinal fluid, and interstitial fluid are all fluid-based and are significantly influenced by hydration and electrolyte levels.
Strategy #3: Improving Blood Flow During The Day With Neuro Drills
i. Visual Drill Activation (Eye Circles):
- Hold a pen or pencil as a visual target.
- Move the target in a circle, following it with your eyes, three times in each direction... be sure not to move your head!
- This activates the visual processing center, cerebellum, brain stem, parietal lobe, and frontal lobe, driving significant blood flow and activation.
ii. Vestibular Drill Activation:
- Perform three-axis head rotations: pitch (forward/back), roll (tilt), and yaw (side to side).
- Stand with feet together or on one leg, rotating the head slowly and stabilizing in each position.
- This activates the vestibular system, improving balance and coordination.
iii. Proprioception (Movement) Activation:
- Move any limb (shoulder, hip, ankle, wrist) in circular or figure-eight patterns... these are called "complex, non-linear" movements
- This enhances coordination and blood flow from "back to front" in the brain.
- Example: 10 repetitions in one direction and 10 in the opposite direction for each joint listed above.
Strategy #4: Integration Drills For Increased Blood Flow During The Day
Utilizing Compass Lunges can activate all of the above brain areas and systems at the same time! This sequence of lunges can compliment and potentially multiply the benefit of the exercises above, but isn't a total replacement for them.
Best practice would say that all of the exercises should be used together.
Instructions for compass lunges:
- Stand in the center of an imaginary compass on the floor.
- Perform lunges in various directions (north, south, east, west), keeping one foot planted in the center position, while the other foot steps out toward the edge of the compass. Keep your eyes focused on a target ahead of you while moving out and back from each lunge.
- This integrates muscle activation, balance, and visual input, further promoting blood flow and glymphatic function.
Closing Thoughts On This Sleep Education
The six activities (lymphatic activation, breathing, visual and vestibular exercises, movement, and compass lunges) can reset your brain each morning, improving motivation and decision-making. This sequence ensures the back of the brain is activated first, facilitating optimal frontal lobe function.
Other related articles :
6 Reasons For Adding Vision Training To Your Training Routine
How Do I Know Which Area Of the Brain To Train
Understanding How The Brain Interprets Stress and Its Importance - The Threat Bucket
The Top 6 Posture Clues Linked To Your Brain
The Brains Role In Posture
