r/science • u/Potential_Being_7226 PhD | Psychology | Neuroscience • 15d 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/Potential_Being_7226 PhD | Psychology | Neuroscience 15d ago

Adequate sleep and exercise are two good ways to improve lymphatic drainage.

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u/livens 15d ago

Exercise, it's always exercise.

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u/roguealex 15d ago

Exercise and sleep*

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u/___Snoobler___ 15d 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 15d 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] 15d 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 15d ago edited 15d 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 15d 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/IOnlyLiftSammiches 15d 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.