It is expected that sleep has improved whilst following the programme. Sleep hygiene is absolutely essential for health and should be a PRIORITY.
How Sleep helps your Brain Detox – Importance of your glymphatic system
Sleep is important for mental health and mood – it is also essential to help the brain detoxify.
Various studies have shown when you sleep, the brain reorganises and recharges itself, and removes toxic waste by-products which have accumulated throughout the day. So sleeping can clear the brain and help maintain its normal functioning.
The process by which this happens is via the glymphatic system, which uses the cells’ mitochondria to remove cellular waste from the brain. In a similar way to lymphatic clearance the brain uses the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) for draining toxins from the brain.
The glymphatic system is made up of water channels, pores, and other clearance pathways in the brain and spinal cord that help us clear out by-products. This system is particularly active when we sleep. This means if you are sleep deprived, the glymphatic system does not have time to perform this function, so toxins can build up, and the effects will become apparent in cognitive abilities, behaviour, and judgment. In addition if your mitochondrial function is poor it may affect sleep quality and clearance of toxins.
Poor sleep = poor toxic removal which in turn can impact sleep.
Physical exercise and movement generally can improve glymphatic function as does keeping hydrated and having good digestive health. I would also suggest topping up with electrolytes particularly magnesium which are important for cellular health.
There are so many hacks to improve sleep but if you are struggling with quality sleep you might want to think about reducing toxic load (both dietary, emotional and environmental), enhancing detoxification pathways and supporting mitochondrial health. This may be one of the reasons why supplements like activated charcoal at night can help some people or why glutathione / NAC and glycine can improve sleep.
Eugene AR, Masiak J. The Neuroprotective Aspects of Sleep. MEDtube Sci. 2015;3(1):35-40.
