Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Brains Sweep Themselves Clean of Toxins During Sleep (2013)

npr.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 177 posts

Re: Brains Sweep Themselves Clean of Toxins During Sleep (2013)

#31

Post by clort »

bryondowd wrote: post #22
mabbo wrote: post #3

> The process is important because what's getting washed away during sleep are waste proteins that are toxic to brain cells, Nedergaard says. Evolution found a nice little optimum in sleep that works pretty well- use less energy during a time of the day that isn't a very efficient time to be awake while also cleaning out the brain. This could be interesting for future research. Could we find chemical means to remove…

There's an interesting concept. I wonder what the trade-off would be. How much efficiency would it cost to clean the brain continually rather than in a dedicated sleep cycle? Would it even be possible to process these toxins while maintaining consciousness? I'm sure there could be huge benefits for many modern lifestyles to trade heavily on reaction speed and/or lightly on IQ for 50% more waking hours. Or even 25% mo…

some birds (and dolphins?) sleep one hemisphere at a time, so that they can keep flying

Re: Brains Sweep Themselves Clean of Toxins During Sleep (2013)

#32

Post by tbirrell »

clavalle wrote: post #10
Overtonwindow wrote: post #5

Random thought: Could dreams be a result of the processing of toxins? In the same way some "toxins" cause us to hallucinate etc. so too could these toxins, as a side affect of processing?

>The team discovered that this increased flow was possible in part because when mice went to sleep, their brain cells actually shrank, making it easier for fluid to circulate. It could be that the brain needs to fire up for short periods in order to help pump the increased fluid out to prepare for another rinse.

Hmm... Interesting, almost like a heart. Expand, contract, expand, contract. That could be why we have multiple dreams a night.

Re: Brains Sweep Themselves Clean of Toxins During Sleep (2013)

#33

Post by bovermyer »

nsxwolf wrote: post #28
pnathan wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, "toxic" and "toxins" are incredibly vague. I loathe the use of those words, as they are both scary and nearly meaningless.

When I see "toxins" I just stop reading. I assume the article is an ad for a juice cleanse.

This seems... extreme, to me. Completely ignoring a thing because of an imperfection could narrow one's depth of experience.

Re: Brains Sweep Themselves Clean of Toxins During Sleep (2013)

#34

Post by Hydraulix989 »

jpm_sd wrote: post #23
throwaway6497 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which schools are these?

MIT

It's a shame what these "top" schools can get away with because of the sacrifices some people are willing to put themselves through to get a coveted degree.

Re: Brains Sweep Themselves Clean of Toxins During Sleep (2013)

#35

Post by deathhand »

empath75 wrote: post #19

This should worry all the people taking adderall and modafinil to be more productive.

Additionally-when ingesting any number of substances that changes cognition my personal antecedent to add is that 'I just don't feel right' unless I nap.

This is true for all things one would imbibe to 'escape reality'.

Re: Brains Sweep Themselves Clean of Toxins During Sleep (2013)

#37

Post by copperx »

nsxwolf wrote: post #28
pnathan wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, "toxic" and "toxins" are incredibly vague. I loathe the use of those words, as they are both scary and nearly meaningless.

When I see "toxins" I just stop reading. I assume the article is an ad for a juice cleanse.

I understand, but be aware that neurotoxic and neurotoxin are words used in scientific literature. "Toxins" in the context of the brain is completely OK.

Re: Brains Sweep Themselves Clean of Toxins During Sleep (2013)

#38

Post by Tharkun »

mabbo wrote: post #3

> The process is important because what's getting washed away during sleep are waste proteins that are toxic to brain cells, Nedergaard says. Evolution found a nice little optimum in sleep that works pretty well- use less energy during a time of the day that isn't a very efficient time to be awake while also cleaning out the brain. This could be interesting for future research. Could we find chemical means to remove…

The blood/brain barrier makes it difficult to deliver chemical means to the brain.

Re: Brains Sweep Themselves Clean of Toxins During Sleep (2013)

#40

Post by bjornsing »

I'd be very surprised if it turns out that there's not a major "computational" element to sleep. Sure, it may be difficult to circulate fluid through a waken beings brain, but I think evolution could have managed. If the "computational resource" is needed for something else though (like running backprop over your neural networks or something :P)... That to me is the only reasonable explanation for the huge evolutionary cost most creatures pay for sleep.
Post reply on HN