96:: The overnight system In charge of cleaning your brain (& how to stop getting in its way!)

Dr. Kelsy Vick continues the April “spring cleaning” series on Wellness Big Sis The Pod by revisiting the glymphatic system—discovered in 2012—which functions as the brain’s waste-clearing system and works primarily during deep, non-REM sleep. She explains how cerebrospinal fluid helps transport and remove metabolic waste into the venous system, and notes animal research suggesting brain cell spaces expand during sleep to improve clearance. The episode links poor deep sleep to symptoms like brain fog, irritability, headaches, memory lapses, and difficulty concentrating, and discusses findings on sleep quality, norepinephrine fluctuations, and how sleep aids can impair restorative cleaning. She highlights research connecting sleep disruption to Alzheimer’s biomarkers and reviews early evidence suggesting menopause, estrogen, and sleep changes may affect women’s glymphatic efficiency. Practical takeaways include prioritizing deep sleep, limiting alcohol and blue light, keeping consistent sleep schedules, considering side sleeping, exercising, hydrating, and managing chronic stress.Menopause Episode: https://youtu.be/HE7niP8P9iI?si=_EH-DzwJrazmAH1RGlymphatic System Episode (episodee 5): https://player.captivate.fm/episode/06bd8798-6d74-4a02-873f-e9778063ec7b/RESOURCES:https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3880190/https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8821419/https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(24)01343-6https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2025.1543725/fullhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-68374-8https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7698404/https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11835678/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.3233/JAD-230527https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37034667/https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4524974/loving the pod? click the follow button, & we'd love if you could leave a review! thank you x 1000 :)sign up for the free Smart Girl Newspaper!insta:: @dr.kelsyvickdpt & @wellnessbigsispodyoutube:: @dr.kelsyvickdpttiktok:: @dr.kelsyvickdpt & @wellnessbigsispod