During the first stages of sleep, energy levels increase significantly in those parts of the brain that are active during wakefulness, US scientists report in the Journal of Neuroscience.
We undoubtedly need a good night’s sleep to restore our strength, but so far it has not been thoroughly investigated what processes take place in our brain during sleep. Dr. Radhika Basheer and Robert McCarley of the Boston VA Healthcare System and Harvard Medical School found that for the body to function properly, it is necessary to raise the energy level in the brain while you sleep.
Scientists studied the levels of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) – a universal cellular energy storage and transporter – in the brain of rats. They found that ATP levels rise during slow wave (non-REM) sleep in four key regions of the brain that are active during wakefulness. At the same time, while the rats are asleep, total brain activity decreases.
When rodents are awake, ATP levels are constant, and even when scientists awakened the rats three or six hours after their usual nap, they did not see an increase in ATP levels.
Researchers found that sleep is essential to restore high levels of energy stored in the form of ATP, and lack of sleep prevents it. The increase in energy levels may be needed for the regeneration and strengthening of the body only during sleep.
According to the authors of the study, the increase in energy levels is associated with a decrease in the activity of brain cells during sleep, but it is possible that it is also influenced by other factors (PAP)