Deep sleep is brain detox!
Sleep is when your brain takes out the trash – and some of us are trash hoarders!
You see, there’s a system of plumbing in the brain called the glymphatic system, which piggybacks onto the brain’s blood vessels and pumps cerebral spinal fluid through the brain to wash away waste.
This glymphatic system does its best work not just when we sleep, but when we are in deep non-REM sleep.
We know too well how challenged we feel mentally after a restless night. Those symptoms are telling.
The meaning and importance of deep sleep needs to be more on the forefront of our thinking. The University of Rochester Medical Center put it this way:
“Because the accumulation of toxic proteins such as beta amyloid and tau in the brain is associated with Alzheimer’s disease, researchers have speculated that impairment of the glymphatic system due to disrupted sleep could be a driver of the disease. This squares with clinical observations which show an association between sleep deprivation and heightened risk for Alzheimer’s.”
Yikes!
We recently shared Dr. Topol’s personal conclusions from his study of superagers – emphasizing how he has rebalanced his exercise routines to maximize benefits for his longevity. He is now asking: “What if the key to protecting your brain isn’t more sleep — but the right kind of sleep?”
Are you tracking your sleep cycles?
Dr. Topol is … times two! He uses both an Oura ring and a smart watch to monitor his sleep because he has discovered the two readings do not always match.
Well, my smart watch will have to do for now. I have always taken my watch off at night to recharge it – now I will recharge earlier in the evening so I can monitor my sleep.
Anyone want to join me? Or are you already wearing a monitoring device at night?
I’d love to hear the results we all get.
Finally, most sleep gurus agree that while we hear a lot about 8 hours of sleep being ideal, many of us have found a sweet spot with 7 hours.
Okay – we’ll circle back together on this in a week or two – drop a comment below to share your findings.
In sleeping health –
Deidre
UPDATE: With Sheree’s and my summer vacations and family get together’s, we’re trying to get our posts “in the can” and ready to be sent to you several weeks in advance. By the time you read this, Toolkit for Caregiver Emotions may be in its soft launch phase, hopefully, being read and reviewed by my launch team.
It’s not too late if you would like to help me launch my book in a way that will help others take notice of it. Drop a comment below or reach out to me at Deidre@deidreedwards.com if you would like to get launch team information along with a free PDF copy. Thanks!