Posted on 04/30/2016 5:40:04 AM PDT by molewhacka
Danish research is behind a new epoch-making discovery, which may prove decisive to future brain research. The level of salts in the brain plays a critical role in whether we are asleep or awake. This discovery may be of great importance to research on psychiatric diseases such as schizophrenia and convulsive fits from lack of sleep as well as post-anaesthetization confusion, according to Professor Maiken Nedergaard.
Salts in our brain decide whether we are asleep or awake. For the first time, researchers have shown that the level of salts in our body and brain differ depending on whether we are asleep or awake. A new study from the University of Copenhagen reveals that by influencing the level of salts, it is possible to control a mouse's sleep-wake cycle. The research has just been published in the scientific journal, SCIENCE...
Well, in a straight answer (from my previous post) it appears that:
Waking shows more Potassium salt and less Calcium, Magnesium and less water present in the brain cells.
Sleeping or anesthesia shows less Potassium salt but more Calcium, Magnesium and water present in the brain cells.
“increasing the extracellular volume” hints at another recent finding that your brain cells grow and shrink with the sleep cycle, allowing space between the cells, to allow a better flow of fluid, for the transfer of nutrients in, and waste products out of the cells.
It might even be the same study.
That physical change has some bearing on the reason it takes you a while to wake up in the morning.
I have to say, it is really amusing to read non-scientists’ interpretations of this article!
The first section of Science magazine usually has a synopsis of its articles written in plain language for lay people to understand. And yes, the plain language synopsis is useful for us scientists who cannot possibly know the intricate details of scientific endeavors outside of our own fields of expertise. Perhaps the plain-language synopsis of this article would be more helpful to the non-scientist FReepers?
I don’t know that this study implies that ingesting any of the salts would have an effect on your ability to regulate sleep, but I assume having an ample supply in your system, for your brain to work with wouldn’t hurt.
Now if you have a deficiency, that’s a different story. I’m sure Gatoraide or other electrolyte supplement before bed would be a cheap and safe experiment.
ZMA gives a lot of people wild dreams. It does seem to increase REM sleep. I used it for a while, but now I’m at the age I need something to stay awake.
Oops, too late for the warning, the damage is done. We’ve been using that pink salt for months!
Thanks, the reason I was wondering is because I salt everything, and I do mean everything, yet I sleep very little most of the time. Every now and then I will get 8 hours, but usually it is 3 or 4 hours.
Look up “sole water”...table salt is pretty useless
Try not doing that, get some other electrolytes.
Your salt craving is probably your body screaming out for electrolytes, and you’re pounding the Sodium.
Because salt makes you need to pee so you wake up?
Actually it is a taste thing, have salted everything all my life. Just love the taste of salt on my food. But I wouldn’t be surprised if I did need electrolytes.
Body screaming out.
have salted everything all my life
Body screaming out.
Just love the taste of salt on my food
Body screaming out.
But I wouldn’t be surprised if I did need electrolytes.
Like I said.
for me a grilled cheese sandwich helps me sleep....any body know why/
yeah, the “eureka” article is worthless, referring repeatedly to just “salts”.
Here’s a better article (that’s free):
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/ions-may-be-charge-when-you-sleep-and-wake
“Changes in ion concentrations, not nerve cell activity, switch the brain from asleep to awake and back again, researchers report in the April 29 Science. Scientists knew that levels of potassium, calcium and magnesium ions bathing brain cells changed during sleep and wakefulness. But they thought neurons — electrically active cells responsible for most of the brain’s processing power — drove those changes.
Instead, the study suggests, neurons aren’t the only sandmen or roosters in the brain. “Neuromodulator” brain chemicals, which pace neuron activity, can bypass neurons altogether to directly wake the brain or lull it to sleep by changing ion concentrations.
Scientists hadn’t found this direct connection between ions and sleep and wake before because they were mostly focused on what neurons were doing, says neuroscientist Maiken Nedergaard, who led the study. She got interested in sleep after her lab at the University of Rochester in New York found a drainage system that washes the brain during sleep (SN: 11/16/13, p. 7).When measuring changes in the fluid between brain cells, Nedergaard and colleagues realized that ion changes followed predictable patterns: Potassium ion levels are high when mice (and presumably people) are awake, and drop during sleep. Calcium and magnesium ions follow the opposite pattern; they are higher during sleep and lower when mice are awake.”
SO -— low potassium and high magnesium and high calcium could promote sleep. Guess that’s why so many say take a good magnesium supplement to promote sleep. I do this along with Vitamin D before bedtime. But take a GOOD mag supplest, namely a fully-reacted chelated one, NOT an inorganic one like mag oxide or mag citrate: those will only give you diarrhea.
Perhaps this research should be taken with a gr-, uh, forget it.
“Does this mean in laymen’s terms that if you take a Calcium/Magnesium supplement that could somehow ensure that the elements would be better absorbed in the brain, you would be more likely to sleep well? “
Yes,high magnesium and high calcium could promote sleep. Guess that’s why so many say take a good magnesium supplement to promote sleep. I do this along with Vitamin D before bedtime. But take a GOOD mag supplest, namely a fully-reacted chelated one, NOT an inorganic one like mag oxide or mag citrate: those will only give you diarrhea.
“high blood sugar has an effect on my sleep. About 3:00 something changes and I wake up but it is not salt”
I’ve read that the 3:00am wakeup is when your stored glycogen has been depleted.
https://www.google.com/search?q=liver+glucogen+store&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8#q=glycogen+depleted+sleep
The liver stores glycogen when you eat and then turns it back into glucose to keep your blood sugar stable between meals. A good protein snack right before bedtime would boost glycogen. A carb snack is probably not a good idea as that could spike blood sugar followed by a crash.
Stop it and answer the question I want to know too!
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