How to Flush Your Brain

You may have heard of the circulatory and digestive system, but have you heard of the lymphatic system?  Ok, so you have.  But, have you heard of the GLYMphatic system.  It's really okay if you haven't, because it was only recently discovered in 2013.  While the lymphatic system is the waste picker-upper for the entire body, the glymphatic system specifically cleans the central nervous system.  It clears waste, regulates cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and is the immune defense for the nervous system.  It also transports compounds around the brain--lipids, growth factors, amino acids and neuromodulators around the brain.  There is an intricate system of water channels and pores around your brain to wash out toxins, proteins and bi-products of cellular metabolism.  This system runs smoothly until you invade it with external toxins.  In today's day and age, neurotoxicity is unescapable--it comes from lead in paint, heavy metals in water, mercury in fish, pesticides on produce, in cleaning products, cosmetics, food additives and the fossil fuels from transportation--to name a few.  The accumulation of toxicity in our brains is leading to many common illnesses, such as, Alzheimer's, dementia, and temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMD).  How can we protect our most vital organ from such threats?

 Unlike the other body systems, the lymphatic and glymphatic systems do not have a major organ to direct their functions. Instead, lymph relies on our body's movement to stimulate its transport through the network of lymph vessels around your body.  Therefore, exercise, deep breathing and general movement throughout the day are what move lymph throughout the network of vessels.  These narrow, delicate and superficial lymph vessels can catch the second hand rhythm of contraction from the muscles or blood vessels pulsing beneath them.  Another reason that movement is critical for both lymph and blood flow, is because exercise stimulates the exchange of oxygen, nutrients, and metabolic bi-products.

Double the amount of metabolic activity from the glymphatic system takes place overnight.  Insufficient activation of the glymphatic system overnight can lead to a build up of inflammation and neurotoxicity.  It can even lead to the silent build up of amyloid-beta plaques along the line of the brain leading to Alzheimer's, Parkinson's or Dementia decades later.  Another issue from insufficient glymphatic functions due to either lack of sleep or deficiency of melatonin could be TMJ (Temporal Mandibular Joint Dysfunction).  In a desperate attempt to detoxify the brain at night, the jaw grinds to produce movement that will stimulate the glymphatic system.  People suffering from TMJ could find that increasing their sleep and melatonin supply may decrease the tension that builds in their jaw at night.  Deeper sleep can be encouraged by keeping the bedroom cool at night (between 68 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit), avoiding blue light which inhibits melatonin production, avoid eating before bed, expose the eyes to morning sunlight so that melatonin production will resume earlier in the evening, and take melatonin supplements if necessary.