1 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:13,200 Speaker 1: Hey, everybody, welcome to another edition of Wisdom Wednesdays. Today, 2 00:00:13,240 --> 00:00:15,440 Speaker 1: we're going to do a deep dive into a topic 3 00:00:15,680 --> 00:00:20,520 Speaker 1: that really underscores just how vital sleep is for our health. 4 00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:23,360 Speaker 1: And I've talked about it a few times, and we 5 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:26,120 Speaker 1: often think of sleep as a time when just our 6 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:29,680 Speaker 1: bodies and brains just kind of shut down. But in reality, 7 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:34,879 Speaker 1: it's an incredibly active process that is pretty critical for 8 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:39,559 Speaker 1: our physical health, our mental health, and our emotional well being. Now, 9 00:00:39,600 --> 00:00:43,800 Speaker 1: when we sleep, our bodies actually embark on a series 10 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:47,639 Speaker 1: of what we can think of as essential maintenance tasks 11 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:51,240 Speaker 1: that are vital for our overall health. So one key 12 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:53,720 Speaker 1: thing that happens during sleep has released a growth hormone, 13 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:56,880 Speaker 1: and everybody will know that, and this hormone is critical 14 00:00:57,080 --> 00:01:00,360 Speaker 1: for physical repair. It helps us recover from that we're 15 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:03,640 Speaker 1: in ter our daily life. It helps to rebuild our muscle, 16 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:07,679 Speaker 1: which is turning over continuously, as well as our organs 17 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:10,520 Speaker 1: which are turning over, and it supports the healing of 18 00:01:10,680 --> 00:01:13,760 Speaker 1: any injuries we might have. Now at the same time, 19 00:01:14,319 --> 00:01:18,800 Speaker 1: our DNA rapper mechanisms kick in. And think of these 20 00:01:19,080 --> 00:01:22,200 Speaker 1: as little enzymes that run all the way through your body, 21 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:28,160 Speaker 1: identifying and fixing damaging sales, including those that might be 22 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:32,240 Speaker 1: pre cancers or become pre cancers. So this is one 23 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:36,360 Speaker 1: of the body's natural defenses against chronic diseases, including cancer. 24 00:01:37,319 --> 00:01:40,360 Speaker 1: But also let's think about what's going on in the brain. 25 00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:44,640 Speaker 1: So I have talked about this previously. During rem sleep, 26 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:49,920 Speaker 1: when we're dreaming, the brain actually engages in this memory consolidation, 27 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:54,200 Speaker 1: and what researchers thinks happening is that reviews and processes 28 00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:57,480 Speaker 1: the events of the day and organizes and stores the 29 00:01:57,520 --> 00:02:01,400 Speaker 1: memories in a way that makes them more accessible and 30 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:05,960 Speaker 1: integrated into our overall knowledge base. But what is pretty 31 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:10,000 Speaker 1: fascinating about that is that that is the only time 32 00:02:10,040 --> 00:02:14,239 Speaker 1: in your life when no epinephyrine or no adrenaline, which 33 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:17,360 Speaker 1: is the sister chemical of adrenaline in the brain, is 34 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:21,600 Speaker 1: actually shut down. So it allows you to replay the 35 00:02:21,720 --> 00:02:25,320 Speaker 1: day's events but in the absence of stress, and has 36 00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:28,880 Speaker 1: actually been shown to be really helpful. It's kind of 37 00:02:28,919 --> 00:02:32,799 Speaker 1: like nightly therapy for the brain. And when you emperor 38 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:37,640 Speaker 1: rem sleep, you actually increase people's anxiety. But there's another 39 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:40,800 Speaker 1: critical function that takes place in the brain where we're sleep, 40 00:02:41,160 --> 00:02:43,640 Speaker 1: and this one is less well known, and it's the 41 00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:48,880 Speaker 1: brain's own self cleaning process called the glymphatic system. Now 42 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:52,120 Speaker 1: I have talked about it before, but there's some new 43 00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:55,880 Speaker 1: research that's come to light. So the glymphatic system was 44 00:02:56,080 --> 00:03:01,520 Speaker 1: only discovered in twenty thirteen. Right now, we've known for 45 00:03:01,919 --> 00:03:04,600 Speaker 1: decades and decades that the body gets rid of its 46 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:09,720 Speaker 1: toxic waste products with the lymphatic system, but the Brian 47 00:03:09,919 --> 00:03:13,720 Speaker 1: doesn't have a lymphatic system. And then in twenty thirteen, 48 00:03:14,280 --> 00:03:17,840 Speaker 1: some genius discovered that the brain actually when we're asleep 49 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:21,880 Speaker 1: at night, uses what's called our csf our cerebrospinal fluid 50 00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:25,680 Speaker 1: to wash away any toxins that accumulate in the brain 51 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:27,760 Speaker 1: during the day. So people might think, well, what toxins 52 00:03:27,760 --> 00:03:31,040 Speaker 1: can accumulate, Well, really, all of our cells are the 53 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:34,560 Speaker 1: vast majority of our cells go through a process called 54 00:03:34,639 --> 00:03:40,200 Speaker 1: aerobic metabolism, so they use oxygen to create energy inside 55 00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:43,440 Speaker 1: the cell, and there are toxic waste products, and as 56 00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:45,000 Speaker 1: I said, the cells and the rest of the body 57 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:48,080 Speaker 1: dump those waste products into the lymphatic system along with 58 00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:51,080 Speaker 1: a whole heap of other chunk, and it's cleaned out right. 59 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:56,800 Speaker 1: So this glymphatic system is similar stuff going on in 60 00:03:56,800 --> 00:04:01,280 Speaker 1: the brain, and it's this process is especially effective clearing 61 00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:05,000 Speaker 1: out these protein aggregates. Kind of think of them as 62 00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:08,920 Speaker 1: like clumpy bits of protein, like amyloids, which are you 63 00:04:08,960 --> 00:04:12,200 Speaker 1: may have heard me talk about them before with their 64 00:04:12,240 --> 00:04:16,520 Speaker 1: implications for neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's. So thing of 65 00:04:16,800 --> 00:04:20,839 Speaker 1: the glymphatic system as the brain's version of a quick 66 00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:25,799 Speaker 1: spring clean every night, right, and as this cerebral spinal 67 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:29,400 Speaker 1: fluid goes through the brain, it's actually flushing out the 68 00:04:29,440 --> 00:04:33,080 Speaker 1: waste products and keeping our neurons functioning optimally. And the 69 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:36,200 Speaker 1: thinking was it kind of hitches a ride down the 70 00:04:36,520 --> 00:04:42,200 Speaker 1: outside of the glymphatic system. Now, while that sounds relatively 71 00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:47,320 Speaker 1: straightforward and the reality is much more complex. So there's 72 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:51,200 Speaker 1: brain washing if you think about literal brain washing it 73 00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:55,400 Speaker 1: atmosphere in sleep. But what has really eluded scientists is 74 00:04:55,440 --> 00:05:00,440 Speaker 1: the understanding of what drives the process exactly and how 75 00:05:00,480 --> 00:05:04,920 Speaker 1: the waste is moved from deep brian regions and the 76 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:07,680 Speaker 1: sales there are past the blood brain barrier into the 77 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:10,560 Speaker 1: bloodstream where it can then be filtered out by delivering 78 00:05:10,600 --> 00:05:13,719 Speaker 1: the kidneys. Now, early this year, there's a series of 79 00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:18,120 Speaker 1: groundbreaking studies that actually provided some much needed answers, and 80 00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:21,400 Speaker 1: a geek like me loves this stuff. Now. These studies 81 00:05:21,400 --> 00:05:25,719 Speaker 1: focused on the role of slow electrical waves, so you 82 00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:28,840 Speaker 1: might have heard of slow wave of sleep, and they 83 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:33,279 Speaker 1: uncovered critical insights in the high the glymphatic system functions 84 00:05:33,320 --> 00:05:37,440 Speaker 1: by studying these slow electrical waves. So one of the 85 00:05:37,480 --> 00:05:40,680 Speaker 1: studies was published in February in the journal Nature, and 86 00:05:40,760 --> 00:05:43,480 Speaker 1: you know, if you get published in Nature, it's a 87 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:48,640 Speaker 1: cracking article. And it was published by doctor Jonathan Kipness 88 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:52,000 Speaker 1: and his team at Washington University of Saint Louis, and 89 00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:57,200 Speaker 1: they revealed that individual nerve sales in the Brian coordinate 90 00:05:57,600 --> 00:06:04,119 Speaker 1: to create a rhythmic electrical waves during sleep, and these 91 00:06:04,320 --> 00:06:10,200 Speaker 1: waves actually act like tiny pumps moving the fluid through 92 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:14,280 Speaker 1: the brain tissue and facilitating the removal of waste, which 93 00:06:14,360 --> 00:06:18,279 Speaker 1: is really cool shit. And Kipnistic explained this is a 94 00:06:18,320 --> 00:06:20,000 Speaker 1: quote from me. He says, we knew that sleep is 95 00:06:20,040 --> 00:06:23,520 Speaker 1: a time when the brain initiates a cleaning process to 96 00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:27,640 Speaker 1: flush out waste and toxins that accumulates during wakefulness, but 97 00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:32,200 Speaker 1: we didn't know how that happens. And this study provided 98 00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:36,600 Speaker 1: the missing piece by showing how these electrical waves coordinated 99 00:06:36,920 --> 00:06:40,359 Speaker 1: by a bunch of nerve cells actually help to cleanse 100 00:06:40,440 --> 00:06:44,120 Speaker 1: the brain. But why when I understand how waste is 101 00:06:44,240 --> 00:06:47,680 Speaker 1: moved through the brain, where there was still a bit 102 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:50,159 Speaker 1: of a mystery to solve. So how does this waste 103 00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:53,679 Speaker 1: cross the blood brain barrier? So the blood brain barrier 104 00:06:53,880 --> 00:06:57,560 Speaker 1: is exactly this thing. It is a barrier between the 105 00:06:57,600 --> 00:06:59,760 Speaker 1: brain and the blood and the rest of the body, 106 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:02,919 Speaker 1: and it's very selective for what it allows to pass 107 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:06,159 Speaker 1: through because obviously your brain is pretty sensitive. So another 108 00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:10,440 Speaker 1: study from Kipness's group provided the answer. They discovered that 109 00:07:10,640 --> 00:07:14,400 Speaker 1: structures in the brain were similar to what you think 110 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:18,560 Speaker 1: of them as like aner port security checkpoint that actually 111 00:07:18,600 --> 00:07:22,480 Speaker 1: allows molecules and fluids to pass through what's called the 112 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:27,680 Speaker 1: irachnoid barriers a membrane that separates the brain tissue from 113 00:07:27,720 --> 00:07:31,960 Speaker 1: the bloodstream, and these checkpoints are crucial for waste removal, 114 00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:35,680 Speaker 1: allowing that cerebral spinal fluid to exit the brain with 115 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:40,000 Speaker 1: its toxins and then dumping into the layer's lymph node. 116 00:07:40,440 --> 00:07:44,160 Speaker 1: And in order to confirm this, the researchers injected mice 117 00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:48,680 Speaker 1: with these little light emitting molecules what call that you 118 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:53,280 Speaker 1: and they observed how the molecules actually passed through the 119 00:07:53,480 --> 00:07:57,360 Speaker 1: security gates at the blood brain barrier, and then MRI 120 00:07:57,640 --> 00:08:02,080 Speaker 1: scans of healthy humans can that a similar process happens 121 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:07,160 Speaker 1: in our brains, suggesting if these gates become clogged, that 122 00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:10,480 Speaker 1: could potentially lead to a build up of waste and 123 00:08:10,520 --> 00:08:15,920 Speaker 1: then potentially contribute to neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's and 124 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:21,360 Speaker 1: other forms of cognitive decline. So understanding the glymphatic system 125 00:08:21,520 --> 00:08:25,680 Speaker 1: it's not just about satisfying scientists and geeks like me. 126 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:29,760 Speaker 1: It has real world implications. So for instance, research by 127 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:32,720 Speaker 1: a guy called Jeffrey Illif who was part of the 128 00:08:32,760 --> 00:08:36,719 Speaker 1: team that discovered the glymphatic system, originally showed that traumatic 129 00:08:36,800 --> 00:08:40,679 Speaker 1: brain injuries, such as those caused in war or from 130 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:45,239 Speaker 1: trauma to the head, can actually imper the glymphatic system, 131 00:08:45,640 --> 00:08:49,400 Speaker 1: and this empowerment might be a key factor in post 132 00:08:49,480 --> 00:08:53,120 Speaker 1: concussive symptoms that we see from many veterans, and I 133 00:08:53,200 --> 00:08:57,839 Speaker 1: would presume have a role in CTE which we're now 134 00:08:57,960 --> 00:09:02,959 Speaker 1: seeing that's happening in lots of board such as American football, rugby, 135 00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:08,480 Speaker 1: Aussie rules, and even soccer. So this constant knocks to 136 00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:12,400 Speaker 1: the brain can actually screw up this system and then 137 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:17,600 Speaker 1: accumulate the metabolic damage. And this pretty exciting discovery opens 138 00:09:17,679 --> 00:09:22,280 Speaker 1: up new possibilities for treating a whole range of neurological conditions. 139 00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:26,320 Speaker 1: So by targeting this glymphatic system and making sure that 140 00:09:26,400 --> 00:09:29,640 Speaker 1: it's working really well, we might be able to find 141 00:09:29,679 --> 00:09:32,880 Speaker 1: ways to alleviate symptoms or even slow the progression of 142 00:09:32,920 --> 00:09:37,559 Speaker 1: diseases like Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia and CTE 143 00:09:37,840 --> 00:09:42,719 Speaker 1: in people who are doing sport. So, in conclusion, our 144 00:09:42,760 --> 00:09:47,199 Speaker 1: brain still has a shit heap of mysteries to cough up, 145 00:09:47,360 --> 00:09:50,480 Speaker 1: and for me, the discovery of the glymphatic system and 146 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:56,080 Speaker 1: this major step forward in understanding how it works, is 147 00:09:56,120 --> 00:09:59,320 Speaker 1: a really critical piece in the puzzle that brings us 148 00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:03,440 Speaker 1: closer to developing therapies that could improve the lives of 149 00:10:03,600 --> 00:10:07,439 Speaker 1: millions and millions of people who are suffering from neurodegenerative 150 00:10:07,520 --> 00:10:11,600 Speaker 1: diseases and from traumatic brain injury. So that's it for 151 00:10:11,679 --> 00:10:15,040 Speaker 1: this week. Until next time, make sure that you put 152 00:10:15,080 --> 00:10:19,120 Speaker 1: a lot of focus on prioritizing your sleep. Catch you 153 00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:19,560 Speaker 1: next time.