Health: Why do we sleep? The answer comes from a study of two ... - Weather Web

Sunday, January 12, 2014, 14:04

Why ‘sleep? Sleep and ‘the bill we pay every day to learn new things, to accumulate memories and experiences. At night, the brain eliminates unnecessary information cluttering inside and consolidates the important memories. Sleep, therefore, serves to balance the brain, in particular the ‘synapses’, or the bridges of communication between neurons. It ‘s the explanation that comes from years and years of research of two Italian scientists working abroad, Guido Tononi and Chiara Cirelli, for years at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine. In a review that makes the synthesis of their work on animals and humans, published this week in the journal Neuron, Tononi says, “sleep and ‘the price we must pay for the brain for learning and memory. During the vigil, learning strengthens synaptic connections throughout the brain, increasing energy expenditure and saturating the brain for new information. ” Sleep allows the brain to eliminate redundant information (smart forgetting – forgetting in an intelligent manner) and to integrate the material just learned with memories already ‘established, so that the brain can’ start over the next day fresh and clean.