did you know the brain needs to clean itself of toxins that build up as it's used throughout the day? like a river, cerebrospinal fluid (light blue) flows through paravascular spaces (dark blue) and flushes those toxins out through a series of channels that expand during sleep.

to clean itself, the brain has a "sewer drain" system! after the interstitial fluid (transport fluid) and parenchymal waste solutes flush out of the paravascular space around the cerebral arteries, they literally drain out via "underground" venous paravascular spaces .

you might wonder why the brain has a cleaning system in the first place? it's because toxic proteins like amyloid beta plaques (Aβ) build up daily in your grey matter and not cleaning them out would be detrimental, as having a lot are linked to alzheimer's disease, aging, etc.

fun fact: this brain cleaning process is known as the glymphatic system and was discovered by Maiken Nedergaard in 2013! her recent discovery is a testament to how *young* neuroscience research actually is.

so whenever you're contemplating not sleeping, know that these little suckers are literally building up in your brain and that insomnia means a filthy brain: