Why animals sleep remains one of the enduring mysteries of biology, but new research suggests the primary reason might be to allow cerebrospinal fluid to wash all the gunk out from between your brain cells.
The researchers interpretation is that this is literally a cleaning process after a busy day. I would wonder if it’s also a restocking process. Clearing out the clutter from the brain cells but also providing fresh nutrients and items not so easily replaced while the brain is in use.
I just found a TED presentation that describes this research even further and exploring the idea I suggested.
Jeff Iliff: One more reason to get a good night’s sleep
The question of course is how to get good quality sleep? I get the impression from the presentation that new drugs will be the solution but why not just use movement in your daily life to improve the quality of your sleep.