Sleep Deprivation May Lead to Your Brain 'Eating Itself': New Study

May 26: Sleep deprivation is a long-term condition where you’ve been suffering from lack of sleep persistently over a period of time. It is not one episode of a late-night party but continues over days where one may not be able to get adequate amount of rest every night.

This can lead to many health issues like high-stress levels, decreased metabolism, heart and kidney issues and a lack of general well-being. A new study, conducted by Michele Bellesi of the Marche Polytechnic University in Italy, adds to the list of harmful effects of sleep deprivation claiming that it can actually cause the brain to ‘eat itself’.

The experiments were carried out in a mice model and researchers analysed the brains of mice that had regular sleep, spontaneous wake, sleep deprivation and chronic sleep deprivation. With the help of block-face scanning software, scientists were able to measure the synapses and cell processes in the mouse's frontal cortex. They specifically looked at certain cells called astrocytes cells and found that the sleep-deprived mice showed more activity with these cells.

Researchers found that portions of the synapses were literally eaten up by astrocytes because of sleep loss. They were not able to find out the effects of this but they believe that it may not be a bad thing as it could just be a way of cleaning up old brain debris and therefore, more research is required to understand this phenomenon better. The study was published in the Journal of Neuroscience and hints that astrocytes may start breaking down more of the brain’s debris if you’re sleep deprived.

The study also looked at the effect of sleep deprivation on that microglial cells that account for around 15 per cent of cells found within the brain. It shows that chronic sleep restriction (for the mice it was five days of being kept awake) led to increased signs of microglial activation which may lead to serious brain disorders and thus, make these findings worrisome.

Adults should get at least 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night. Anxiety, low immunity, over emotional state and forgetfulness are some of the most common signs of sleep deprivation that you must watch out for and make sure you god good rest daily.