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Sleep

·January 8, 2025·5 min read

Deep Sleep Drives Brain’s Waste Clearance, Aiding Cognitive Health

Deep sleep may clear the brain of toxic waste via a process driven by norepinephrine, a molecule that creates rhythmic blood vessel contractions. This "brainwashing" system, part of the glymphatic system, helps remove harmful proteins linked to neurological disorders.

This shows a clock and people sleeping in an office.

Featured Neuroscience

·January 8, 2025·4 min read

Workplace Habits That Put Your Sleep at Risk

A study of over 1,000 employees found that sedentary jobs and nontraditional work schedules significantly increase the risk of insomnia symptoms and disrupted sleep patterns. Sedentary workers experienced a 37% rise in insomnia symptoms, while those with nontraditional schedules were 66% more likely to need “catch-up sleep,” such as weekend oversleeping or frequent naps.

This shows a woman sleeping and a brain.

Featured Neuroscience

·January 7, 2025·5 min read

Short-Term Rhythms Shape Sleep Spindles and Brain Health

Sleep spindles—brief bursts of brain activity crucial for memory and sleep stability—are guided primarily by short-term timing patterns lasting less than 15 seconds. Researchers found these patterns are highly individualized, consistent across nights, and change with age, outweighing the influence of other factors like brain rhythms or sleep depth.

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·January 5, 2025·6 min read

Pupil Dynamics During Sleep Reveal Brain’s Memory-Saving Secrets

Researchers have discovered that pupil size during non-REM sleep correlates with memory consolidation. When pupils contract, the brain focuses on consolidating new memories; when dilated, it processes older ones.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·January 2, 2025·4 min read

Poor Sleep Linked to Difficulty Controlling Unwanted Thoughts

Sleep deprivation impairs brain regions responsible for suppressing unwanted thoughts, contributing to mental health challenges. Functional neuroimaging revealed reduced activation in the prefrontal cortex and increased hippocampal activity in sleep-deprived individuals, suggesting memory control deficits.

Featured Neuroscience

·December 17, 2024·4 min read

Breathing Rhythms During Sleep Strengthen Memory Consolidation

New research shows that breathing rhythms during sleep synchronize brain waves in the hippocampus, a region essential for memory consolidation. These brain waves—slow waves, spindles, and ripples—occur at specific points in the breathing cycle, suggesting breathing plays a key role in memory processing.

Featured Neuroscience

·December 12, 2024·6 min read

Slow-Wave Sleep Optimizes Memory Formation

New research shows that slow-wave sleep strengthens synaptic connections in the neocortex, making it more receptive to long-term memory formation. Researchers found that during deep sleep, synapses in the neocortex reach peak efficiency at precise moments within slow-wave oscillations.

Featured Neuroscience

·December 10, 2024·7 min read

How Sleep Shapes Our Brain’s Mental Navigational Maps

A new study reveals how the brain forms cohesive mental maps of spaces and highlights the critical role of sleep in this process. While "place cells" in the hippocampus mark specific locations, weaker spatial cells stitch these points into a comprehensive cognitive map.

Featured Neuroscience

·December 8, 2024·5 min read

Short Sleep and High Blood Pressure Linked to Brain Aging

Research reveals that people with high blood pressure who also sleep less than six hours per night face increased risks of brain injury, accelerated brain aging, and impaired executive function. The study assessed 682 participants from the Framingham Heart Study, analyzing sleep patterns, blood pressure, cognitive performance, and brain MRIs.

Featured Neuroscience

·December 5, 2024·4 min read

Sleep Boosts Language Learning and Memory Consolidation

Learning a new language isn’t just about practice—it’s about sleep. Researchers found that sleep enhances memory of new words and grammar by synchronizing specific brainwave patterns during NREM sleep.

This shows a brain and a person sleeping.

Featured Neuroscience

·November 25, 2024·6 min read

Brain’s Locus Coeruleus Revealed as Key to Sleep Transitions

A new study uncovers the role of the brain's locus coeruleus (LC) in regulating sleep cycles, managing transitions between NREM and REM sleep. This brainstem region alternates between activity peaks and troughs during sleep, acting like a clock to control sleep-state shifts.

Featured Neuroscience

·November 22, 2024·5 min read

NREM Sleep Enhances Cognitive Performance

A new study reveals how NREM sleep enhances cognitive performance by synchronizing neural activity and improving information encoding. Researchers observed macaques' brain activity during visual tasks before and after sleep, finding that neuronal desynchronization after NREM sleep led to better task performance.

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Sleep

Deep Sleep Drives Brain’s Waste Clearance, Aiding Cognitive Health

Workplace Habits That Put Your Sleep at Risk

Short-Term Rhythms Shape Sleep Spindles and Brain Health

Pupil Dynamics During Sleep Reveal Brain’s Memory-Saving Secrets

Poor Sleep Linked to Difficulty Controlling Unwanted Thoughts

Breathing Rhythms During Sleep Strengthen Memory Consolidation

Slow-Wave Sleep Optimizes Memory Formation

How Sleep Shapes Our Brain’s Mental Navigational Maps

Short Sleep and High Blood Pressure Linked to Brain Aging

Sleep Boosts Language Learning and Memory Consolidation

Brain’s Locus Coeruleus Revealed as Key to Sleep Transitions

NREM Sleep Enhances Cognitive Performance

Gene Therapy Restores Hearing in Those with Deafness

Forever Chemicals May Disrupt Brain Development

Kids Outsmart AI in Puzzle Game That Builds Critical Thinking

Drug-Coated Neural Implants Reduce Immune Rejection

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