The Matt Walker Podcast

← The Matt Walker Podcast10 Aug · 25 min

#147 - Does Sleep Really Clean Your Brain?

#147 - Does Sleep Really Clean Your Brain?10 Aug25 min

Matt explores the brain's secret plumbing, a waste-clearance network once ignored for over a century. He explains how the glymphatic system flushes metabolic toxins like amyloid-beta during sleep. This "night shift" allows fluid to cleanse neurons, offering a key defense against cognitive decline. He also examines the latest debates, including norepinephrine’s role in pumping fluid through rhythmic arterial squeezing, and contrasts natural sleep with drug-induced sedation, warning that aids...