Why is it good to sleep on one side?

Your sleeping position affects you more than you think. It can directly affect your health. One study showed that sleeping in a position is related to the brain's elimination of waste, and some sleeping postures are much better than others.

According to IFL Science, the researchers found that sleeping on one side , compared to prone or supine, will allow your body to remove toxic and excess substances from the brain. "It is interesting that the position of sleeping on the side is a very popular position for both humans and animals - even in the wild environment - and we have gradually adapted to this sleeping posture to have It can be released from the brain when we are still awake most effectively. ' - The sharing of Maken Nedergaard, from the University of Rochester in the US, also participated in the study.

What sleeping position is related to the brain eliminating waste.

Scientists have used magnetic resonance "dynamic contrast" (MRI), using a special chemical to improve the appearance of internal structures, so that they can visualize how it works. of the brain. This is a system in which cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), a type of fluid in the brain, is filtered through the brain and transferred to interstitial fluid (ISF), a liquid that can be found around all cells. other cells in the body. This allows chemicals and wastes to accumulate in the brain to be eliminated, such as beta amyloid and tau proteins, two types of substances associated with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

We all know that this process occurs more effectively while we sleep. Studies have shown that sleep eliminates amyloid beta from the brain, as this study clearly shows our sleeping position and position also affects this elimination. The research team tested mouse anesthesia, and then monitored the mouse's brain performance when the rodent slept with one of three positions: recumbent (on either side), on his back and on his stomach.

"The analysis has yielded consistent results that eliminating brain waste is most effective when lying on the side when compared to lying on the back and prone". Professor Helene Benveniste, co-author of the study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, explained: "Because of this finding, we propose that sleep patterns and sleep quality should be considered. Future standardization to optimize the transport of CSF-ISF substances in the human body ".

Interestingly, most mammals tend to sleep sideways, whether they are dogs, cats or even elephants, although studies suggest that the behavior of sleeping animals, including wild animals It is also affected by the struggle that exists, so their sleeping behavior is different from that of humans.

Most mammals tend to sleep on one side.

When this study was tested in mice, the researchers were unsure whether the results were similar to humans, but it was clear that both humans and rodents tend to sleep on one side. , and this is quite significant for this study.

"There are many types of dementia related to sleep disorders, including having trouble sleeping," concludes Nedergaard. "People increasingly acknowledge that sleep disorders can cause dementia in Alzheimer's disease. Our findings bring a new perspective on this topic by showing that your sleeping posture is also useless. same important ".