The Glymphatic System - Can you boost your brain's deep-cleaning system to prevent Alzheimer’s?

We all know how important sleep is for our health, it’s a chance to rest our body and mind, but what if it’s also a vital opportunity for the brain to clear away waste?

In this episode of Change Your Mind, health journalists Cat de Lange and Helen Thomson explore the glymphatic system, a hidden cleaning network deep in the brain that has alluded scientists for years. They’re asking how it helps keep the brain healthy, and why sleep could play such an important role.

Joining them is Maiken Nedergaard, a neuroscientist whose research helped uncover the system. Together, they look at how fluid moves through the brain, what scientists are learning about its links to sleep and conditions such as Alzheimer’s, and what might help support it.

Produced by Emily Bird

Get in touch at ⁠⁠changeyourmind@newscientist.com⁠⁠

Find out more about the glymphatic system at New Scientist:

newscientist.com/article/2590514-can-we-harnes…