They also found that during sleep, the brain’s cells shrink, or become smaller. This shrinking permits waste to be removed more effectively.
Dr. Nedergaard says these toxins end up in the liver. There, they are broken down and then removed from the body.
"So our study suggests that we need to sleep because we have a macroscopic cleaning system that removes many of the toxic waste products from the brain."
The brain’s cleaning system could only be studied with new imaging technologies. The test animal must be alive in order to see this brain process to be seen as it happens.
Dr. Nedergaard says the next step is to look for the process in human brains. She said the results demonstrate just how important sleep is to health and fighting disease. The research may also one day lead to treatments to prevent or help fight neurological disorders.