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BRAIN 

  • Made of thousands of neurons 

  • When humans sleep, the neurons oscillate into waves picking up electrical activity

  • Large waves when sleeping

  • Smaller and irregular waves during wakefulness

  • SLEEP - ⅓ of our lives are spent sleeping

  • Restoration of cellular processes

  • Important for memory and creativity

  • Hypothalamus - Controls the onset of sleep

  • Thalamus - Prevents sensory signals from reaching the cortex

  • Hippocampus - A memory region active during sleeping

  • Amygdala - An emotion center active during dreaming

  • Reticular Formation - Regulates between sleep and wakefulness

  • Pons - Helps initiate REM sleep

NEURONS

Neurons - Axons - Dendrites - Synapses

  • Neurons can be produced in adulthood, but are usually set for life

  • Neurons are high-demand cells and susceptible to imbalances such as oxygen, glucose, toxins, physical damage, etc. 

  • Loss of key proteins, synapses, axons, dendrites can affect neuronal function either acutely or severely for months or years before neuron death

  • When a neuron dies, it cannot be replaced. 

  • People can live for years and not realize dysfunction at the physiological level

GLYMPHATIC SYSTEM

  • Glial cells (non-neuron cells in the brain)

  • Brain disposes of six pounds of waste a year

  • Astrocytes: Star-shaped cells interact with blood vessels and neurons

  • Microglia: brain’s specialized immune cells; can be protective or damaging; exists in different states.

  • Microglia can engulf synapses if the bridge needs to be broken

  • Space between the cells increases by 60% during sleep periods

  • Pulsations drive cerebrospinal fluid around the brain and help to sweep away waste

  • Disrupted glymphatic now linked to dementia in humans

  • The glymphatic system is evidence sleep helps to clear toxins from the brain, adding protection against diseases

WHY MUST WE SLEEP 

  • Homeostasis - longer we stay awake, we build sleep pressure

  • Sleep circadian rhythm - a daily rhythm that controls the sleep-wake cycle

  • The parasympathetic nervous system activates

  • Body temperature drops 

  • Breath and heart slow 

  • The biological clock interacts with time givers and cues

  • The biological clock is made up of neurons 

  • Cells electrical firing and metabolic activity is rhythmic on 24-hours

STAGES OF SLEEP 

STAGE 1: Alpha waves

STAGE 2: Deeper, 5-15 minutes, and the brain spikes

STAGE 3: Large Delta waves

STAGE 4: Deepest sleep, 20-40 minutes (cat naps anyone?), then returns to stage 3, 2, 1

ENTERING RAPID EYE MOVEMENT - REM

REM 

  • Beta waves

  • Brain in awake-like state

  • Roughly 30-50 minutes

  • Approx 25% of sleep is REM

  • As active as an awake brain

  • Cycle repeats throughout the night

  • Dreaming: illusions

  • The sympathetic arm of the autonomic nervous system activates

  • PONS is a conduit sending messages to the left and right sides of the brain and initiates REM

  • Motor neurons fire to the muscles when awake but paralyzed while sleeping

Ever seen the movie Inception???

SLEEPING FOR MEMORY

  • Neurons talk to all the cells in the body and muscles 

  • Immune cells and neurons hold memories for patterns

  • During sleep, memories are consolidated, or transferred to long-term storage (hippocampus).

  • Brain replays events of the day

  • The hippocampus talks to the cortex during sleep cements new synapses

  • The brain integrates new information with existing; key component to creativity

If you have an issue or need clarity, sleep on it. 

BRAIN ILLNESSES 

  • The brain shrinks with age - neurodegenerative diseases 

  • EPILEPSY - Neurons start picking up other energies

  • Stroke 

  • Autism 

  • Schizophrenia (could also be genetic)

  • Depression and Anxiety 

  • Multiple Sclerosis

  • Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

  • Alzheimer’s disease and dementia

  • Huntington’s disease

  • Parkinson’s disease 

YOGA FOR THE BRAIN

  • The bedroom should be very dark

  • No caffeine after noon

  • Regulate sleep hours

  • Cool temperature 

  • Sleep in bed only

  • Minimize light

  • Stop eating at least two hours before bedtime

  • Langhana practice of yoga - reduce energy

Exercise: 

  • For seven days, write down what time you wake up and what time you go to sleep. 

  • Write down what you do before you go to sleep

  • What will you implement in your life to increase your time to sleep?