Research Hit: How Your Brain Flushes Out Toxins During Sleep

Your brain cells coordinate to pump fluid through your brain and flush out toxins when sleeping

I like the idea of my brain flushing out toxins during sleep!

I think we all do - it was first discovered a few years ago that the brain does indeed flush out toxins during sleep. This also highlights the importance of sleep - you don’t want those toxins building up in your brain!

If this was discovered a few years ago, what is new about this research you are reporting on?

Good question: this particular research has gone into the details of the mechanisms that drive this detoxification through research into mice. And is similarly fascinating.

So what is happening in the brain?