r/science • u/Potential_Being_7226 PhD | Psychology | Neuroscience • 13d ago

Neuroscience Boosting brain’s waste removal system improves memory in old mice | Researchers found that rejuvenating the lymphatic vessels in the brain enhanced recognition memory and restored synaptic function through an interleukin-6 (IL-6) pathway.

https://medicine.washu.edu/news/boosting-brains-waste-removal-system-improves-memory-in-old-mice/
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u/roguealex 13d ago

Exercise and sleep*

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u/___Snoobler___ 13d ago

Why can't they put the effects of exercise and sleep into a pill, patch, or suppository? In all seriousness that'd be pretty great.

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u/shellofbiomatter 13d ago

Id just take the sleeping pill, i like to exercise and wouldn't want to lose that, but really don't like sleeping.

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u/[deleted] 13d ago

How does doing exercise not make you tired? When I do a workout I can’t fight the exhaustion when 9pm hits and I’m in bed and sleep like a rock until the sun comes out.

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u/IOnlyLiftSammiches 13d ago edited 13d ago

Could be the difference between those that get a "runner's high" from exercise vs those that don't. If I'm going to have to stay awake for longer than normal (adjusting for swing shifts), I plan for my exercise to take place before the last 6-8 hours of that because it gives me such a mental and physical energy boost.

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u/deanusMachinus 13d ago

Doesn’t everyone get a runner’s high if you run long enough? It just takes 20+ mins of running and most people can’t do that.

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u/TheSpaceCoresDad 13d ago

I run fairly regularly for a lot longer than 20 minutes. I have had runner's high hit me exactly one time, and it was amazing. Never again since then. Always feel like I'm dying by the time I'm done.

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u/ClutchCobra 13d ago

I honestly think some people don't, maybe it's a genetic thing, maybe it's a learned thing, but some are adamant that exercise them discomfort.

And it would really suck for that to be your experience. I couldn't imagine exercising without that rush on endorphins and confidence. It's gotten to the point where my energy levels paradoxically tank on the days I don't exercise. If I'm working a long shift I feel twice as alert throughout the day when I've exercised before

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u/MyFiteSong 13d ago edited 13d ago

There's a high correlation between not receiving the endorphin rush from running and having ADHD. I never believed that high was real until I tried exercising on stimulants.

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u/Primeval_Revenant 13d ago

Back when I was actively exercising regularly there was not a single time where I felt anything but exhaustion and aches. I was just going through it all with the mantra of ‘Do this to be healthy.’ running through my mind constantly and that was NOT encouraging at all. A big factor of why I stopped. It became a greater drain on me than any benefits I was observing (which was probably a purely psychological thing, as there were probably great benefits, but that is just how a mind works).

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u/Toomanydamnfandoms 13d ago

Not everyone does. I used to compete in both long distance and track sprints/relays and I never got my promised runners high :(

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u/IOnlyLiftSammiches 13d ago

Enough people claim that they don't that I have to believe them even if it's not my own experience. I've seen a few studies that also confirm that given the same amount of "work", about 1/3rd of people didn't have the same elevated level of a handful of hormones that the rest did.

20 minutes sounds right for me, and I get it with any sufficiently strenuous physical activity. I think a consistently elevated heart rate might be one of the big triggers for that chemical release; I've not really seen any studies that can nail down exactly what causes it.

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u/shellofbiomatter 13d ago edited 13d ago

Eventually i do get physically tired or weak, but not sleepy. Probably something similar to runners high or maybe adrenaline kicking in and it takes some time for it to wear off. After a workout i don't feel tiredness, I'm just weak. It takes some time for tiredness to kick in, but that does feel good.

Though it does improve sleep, i just don't like to waste time on sleeping or any aspect of sleep.

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u/[deleted] 13d ago

Aryou on any sort of PEDs? It was my understanding sleep was an absolute necessity for recovery and progress. If that’s true I don’t know how someone could make progress with trying to avoid sleep.

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u/shellofbiomatter 13d ago edited 13d ago

Not yet, just therapeutic dose of TRT due to other life issues.

But yeah you are completely right, sleep is very important for recovery and gym performance and I don't avoid sleep, i just don't like it or its necessity.

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u/xycor 13d ago

When you feel sluggish and tired that is a warning sign your body needs exercise. I say this as someone who avoided exercise entirely until my mid-30s. The exhaustion is also a feature. It probably helps one sleep which is when the waste is being flushed from the brain by the lymphatic system. Also, other studies have shown sleeping pills can shut down the nightly waves that drive the cleaning.