Does Sleep Function to Remove Waste from your Brain?
Although this "news" came out in 2013, I think that it is still an interesting and relevant article for others to read: http://www.bbc.com/news/health-24567412 Researchers from the University of Rochester conducted a series of studies with mice and gained insight into what is possibly an essential reason for why we sleep. The authors were motivated to better understand the reasoning behind this core process. They wanted to know why animals seem required to engage in a process that leaves them so vulnerable to predators. Through several studies with mice, the authors deduced that the ventricle and aqueduct system that moves cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) through your brain is especially active during sleep and functions as a "waste removal system". The scientists even observed that cells seem to shrink down in size to better allow the CSF to flow between neurons. The reason that this happens during sleep instead of waking is suggested to be because the process is still