![]() ![]() “I usually try to get people to sleep on their sides. “The lateral position is also best for snoring and sleep apnea,” he says. Christopher Winter, who was not involved in the new study. There are other good reasons to sleep on your side, too, notes sleep expert W. “Probably the reason the head up or back positions are not ideal is because the fluid exits prematurely and does not enter the brain, but instead flows other places, including the spinal cord,” she says. More: What's hidden in your morning coffeeĪ side-sleeping position may improve this process, Benveniste explains, because it encourages the flow of cerebrospinal fluid throughout all of the brain’s nooks and crannies. “It seems that one of the reasons why we sleep is to clean the brain out of toxins that build up during the day.” The discovery of the glymphatic system is “really Earth-shaking … because it really gives us an idea of why we sleep,” Rosenberg says. ![]() But during sleep, the size of the canals increases by about 60 percent, allowing the cerebrospinal fluid to course through the body at a much more rapid rate, he says. The glymphatic system is mostly inactive during the day, explains Robert Rosenberg, DO, author of Sleep Soundly Every Night, Feel Fantastic Every Day, who was not involved in the new study. The waste products end up in the body’s lymph system, which clears them out via the blood. Cerebrospinal fluid circulates in these channels throughout the brain, even the deepest parts of it, to flush out waste products. The glymphatic system consists of channels that run alongside all of the vessels in the brain, Benveniste explains. These plaques are a telltale characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. “When amyloid beta builds up it can form aggregated plaques, which are very difficult for the brain to get rid of,” Benveniste says. Related: The body shape that protects from diabetesĬlearing waste products efficiently ensures that they don’t build up in the brain. The results: “The rodents who were in the lateral position cleared amyloid beta about 25 percent better than when in the prone or supine position,” lead study author Dr Helene Benveniste tells Yahoo Health. The study, recently published in the Journal of Neuroscience, used dynamic contrast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to observe the glymphatic pathway of rodents under anesthesia in three different positions: on their sides (lateral position), backs (supine position), and bellies (prone position). Knowing that the glymphatic system is most active during sleep, scientists at Stony Brook University wanted to see if sleep position affected how well the system worked. The finding is significant because some of these waste products, specifically amyloid beta and tau proteins, are believed to contribute to Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. Related: The simple mind trick to boost memory Similar to the lymphatic system in the body, the glymphatic system flushes waste products out of the brain. And fascinating new research from Stony Brook University may explain why: A side-sleeping position seems to improve waste clearance from the brain, which could prevent Alzheimer’s disease and neurodegenerative diseases.Ī few years ago, researchers at the University of Rochester discovered that the brain has its own cleansing system, known as the glymphatic system. Lying on the side is the most common sleep position for humans.
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