Brain starts to eat itself after chronic sleep loss

An article that appeared in the New Scientist of May 27, 2017 suggests the brain goes into overdrive in mice who are sleep deprived. We know that people with chronic sleep loss have an increased risk of dementia. Cells in the brain called Astrocytes start to break down more of the brain connections as debris builds up in chronic sleep deprivation. Also, critical brain connections are eaten up by these Astrocytes after they are broken down. The article says this process is a one-way street. The article points out, as many other article do, that we need sleep and can’t have a healthy brain without it. Some other studies I read suggest that a human needs at least seven good hours of REM sleep each night to maintain good brain health. If you are studying for an exam or dealing with the challenges of life, you need to be able to think clearly.