The Matt Walker Podcast

#147 - Does Sleep Really Clean Your Brain?

August 10, 2026·25 min
Episode Description from the Publisher

Matt explores the brain's secret plumbing, a waste-clearance network once ignored for over a century. He explains how the glymphatic system flushes metabolic toxins like amyloid-beta during sleep. This "night shift" allows fluid to cleanse neurons, offering a key defense against cognitive decline. He also examines the latest debates, including norepinephrine’s role in pumping fluid through rhythmic arterial squeezing, and contrasts natural sleep with drug-induced sedation, warning that aids...

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