[Your Praxis NeuroCoach] To Sleep...Perchance to CLEAN. Scientists have long speculated that one of the functions of sleep is to restore and repair the brain, but whether this is a “core” purpose of sleep remains controversial. Last year, researchers found direct experimental evidence that the mouse brain cleans itself during sleep, by expanding channels between neurons that allow an influx of cerebrospinal fluid. The fluid flushes out materials that accumulate as plaques and can contribute to diseases like Alzheimer’s. Todays NeuroTip: If you have trouble falling asleep, or waking up in the middle of the night, it can be related to anxious thoughts that were not dealt with before going to bed. If woken up, write down any problems roaming around in the back of your mind: your brain will know that they will be dealt with in the morning. Then find a single word that brings you a sense of deep peace, meaning, or pleasure. Keep repeating it silently and youll quickly drift into restful sleep. Oddity: in the picture below, youll see that the visual cortex is more active (even when youre not dreaming!) But when you do dream it shuts down the frontal lobe processes that would stimulate you to act out the activities in your dream! If not, youd sleep-walk! [Your Praxis NeuroCoach] To Sleep...Perchance to CLEAN. Scientists have long speculated that one of the functions of sleep is to restore and repair the brain, but whether this is a “core” purpose of sleep remains controversial. Last year, researchers found direct experimental evidence that the mouse brain cleans itself during sleep, by expanding channels between neurons that allow an influx of cerebrospinal fluid. The fluid flushes out materials that accumulate as plaques and can contribute to diseases like Alzheimer’s. Todays NeuroTip: If you have trouble falling asleep, or waking up in the middle of the night, it can be related to anxious thoughts that were not dealt with before going to bed. If woken up, write down any problems roaming around in the back of your mind: your brain will know that they will be dealt with in the morning. Then find a single word that brings you a sense of deep peace, meaning, or pleasure. Keep repeating it silently and youll quickly drift into restful sleep. Oddity: in the picture below, youll see that the visual cortex is more active while dreaming, so it shuts down the frontal lobe processes that would stimulate you to act out the activities in your dream! If not, youd sleep-walk!
Posted on: Thu, 03 Apr 2014 16:30:01 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015