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"... Sleep activates a system only discovered in 2012 that washes out brain waste. Called the glymphatic system, it’s comparable to the better-known lymphatic system that moves and filters fluids throughout your body. A healthy glymphatic system is linked to good cognitive function and could prevent neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s ...
A new wearable device ... could offer a safer and more sleep-friendly alternative. The technology shines near-infrared light to detect brain water, a soup of the fluids that constantly flood your brain. The brain-water mixture contains cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which is what the glymphatic system uses to flush out waste particles like plaques that block in-brain communication. ..."
From the abstract:
"Sleep is a critical physiological process essential for overall brain health. Recent research shows that the glymphatic system is a key player in facilitating the metabolic waste clearance.
However, the continuous real-time monitoring of brain water dynamics during sleep remains substantially challenging.
Here, we introduce a soft, wearable near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) system to detect brain water dynamics potentially linked to glymphatic activity. The device features an integration of multi-wavelength LEDs and photodetectors.
The in vivo study with multiple human subjects captures the device’s overnight sleep monitoring in a natural home environment, revealing continuous changes in brain water dynamics across different sleep stages.
Our results support the link between sleep stage-dependent water dynamics and glymphatic activity. Spectral analysis identifies several physiological rhythms during sleep, including respiration, heart rate, and oscillations linked to slow-wave activity. These advancements significantly enhance the NIRS system’s potential for a deeper understanding of brain health."
New Soft Wearable Device Could Support At-Home Sleep Monitoring (original news release) "A new Georgia Tech study shows a wireless wearable device could enable home-based monitoring of physiological changes associated with sleep and brain health."
A new device might offer a glimpse at how the brain cleans out waste during sleep.
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