Sleep ’Helps Boost Brain Cell Production’

Local Editor

Sleep 'helps boost brain cell production': Findings could give insight into role of rest in brain repair and growth...

New research has revealed that sleep can boost the reproduction of brain cells particularly those damaged ones that are essential for the brain to function properly.

The study conducted by the researchers of the University of Wisconsin shows that sleep has vital role in producing cells that are responsible for insulating material known as ‘myelin'.
 
The finding gives new insight about a popular disease Multiple Sclerosis (MS) which appears when myelin is damaged, according to the study published in the Journal of Neuroscience.
In MS, the body's immune system attacks and destroys the myelin coating of nerves in the brain and spinal cord.
In the healthy brain, a type of cells called oligodendrocytes make myelin that allows electrical impulses to move rapidly from one cell to the next.
The study in mice revealed that the production rate of the myelin making cells, immature oligodendrocytes, doubled as animal slept, reported by Dr Chiara Cirelli and colleagues from the University of Wisconsin.

While the sleep, particularly the type associated with dreaming or rapid eye movement sleep (REM), activates the genes for making cells such as oligodendrocytes, sleep deprivation switches on the genes involved in cell death and cellular stress response.

Many researches even indicated the extreme or chronic sleep loss could aggravate some MS symptoms.

Deep sleep also coincides with the release of growth hormone in children and young adults. Many of the body's cells also show increased production and reduced breakdown of proteins during deep sleep.
The experts believe that at least seven hours of sleep a night is necessary for our nervous systems to work properly.

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