When you sleep, you do more than dream. The reproduction of cells involved in brain repair is boosted during sleep, especially the dream phase of sleep, HealthDay News reports of research from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. And it works the other way, too. Sleep deprivation appears to harm brain cells. The study, which was conducted in mice, found that sleep increases the process by which oligodendrocyte cells form myelin. Myelin is the insulation on nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that allows electrical impulses to move rapidly from one cell to another, explains HealthDay News. When the mice slept, genes boosted the production of myelin, but when the mice were forced to stay awake, genes that are linked to cell death were activated. In fact, the reproduction of the cells that go on to become oligodendrocytes doubles during sleep and is most active during the REM (or rapid eye movement) sleep phase, which is when we dream. "for a long time, sleep researchers focused on how the activity of nerve cells differs when animals are awake versus when they are asleep," lead study author Dr. Chiara Cirelli said in a news release announcing the findings. "Now it is clear that the way other supporting cells in the nervous system operate also changes significantly depending on whether the animal is asleep or awake."
Posted on: Fri, 06 Sep 2013 13:03:37 +0000
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