08 Mar One more reason to get a good night’s sleep
We know the importance of getting a good night’s sleep – to improve your mood, help you concentrate, give you energy, and boost your immune system. Sleep is vital to a healthy life, but recent research shows it’s also vital for your brain!
In his TED Talk, neuroscientist Jeff Iliff introduces the discovery of the “glymphatic system”, the brain’s waste cleansing system which is vital for maintain your brain’s most effective neural functioning.
During his Talk, Jeff Iliff explains that when you go to sleep every single night your brain never stops working. While your body is still and resting, “the elegant machinery of the brain is quietly hard at work cleaning and maintaining this unimaginably complex machine.” The brain’s waste clearing system works most efficiently and at its hardest whilst you are sleeping.
In 2012, Jeff was a part of the University of Rochester Medical Center team that discovered a brain cleansing system, which they dubbed the “glymphatic system.” This system is made out of glial cells – sometimes called the “glue of the nervous system” because they help hold neurons in place.
Jeff is such a passionate speaker and ensures this complex subject is accessible to an unscientific audience allowing us all to share the excitement and importance of this discovery within neuroscience.
As he explains, if sleep is part of the brain’s solution to the problem of waste clearance, then this may dramatically change how we think about the relationship between sleep and Alzheimer’s disease. This could be a huge step forward towards an effective treatment or cure for Alzheimer’s disease and Dementia.
At Advance Performance, we have been teaching the power of the brain and its impact on behaviour for nearly 20 years. Positive thinking, visualisation and maintaining healthy positive habits strengthen your dendrites which in turn affect your behaviour empowering you to be the best you can be.
This recent research supports our teaching by proving the importance of sleep to enable the brain’s waste-clearing system to work most effectively, so your brain can consolidate your learning of the day, and the following morning you will feel refreshed, energised and ready to embrace your challenges and goals!