Scientists are further researching the idea that brains “cleanse” themselves of waste proteins during sleep and too little sleep could contribute to diseases such as Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, depression and ADHD.
A research team, lead by Professor Maiken Nedergaard from the University of Rochester Medical Center, made a huge breakthrough in sleep research in 2013, when Nedergaard and her team first discovered that the brain requires sleep as part of its maintenance process. This means that when people get too little sleep, waste-proteins accumulate in the brain, leading to inflammation that subsequently destroys nerve cells. The dsicovery opens up vast new areas for sleep research,
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