Ask Dr. Nick
On today’s episode, Dr. Nick talks about the importance of sleep for memory consolidation. Many high school and college students will stay up all night, or pull all-nighters, to study for an exam, but they are actually doing more harm than good. Sleep deprivation and chronic sleep restriction causes increased permeability in the blood brain barrier (BBB). The BBB regulates which molecules can enter the brain tissue from the blood. When it is damaged, it can cause inflammation and decreased functioning of brain areas, especially the hippocampus, which is essential to memory consolidation. For this reason, quality sleep after studying is essential for converting short-term into long-term memory, and hence, better success on current and future tests. Check out the video for more in depth information on the detrimental effects of sleep deprivation!
- Sun J, Wu J, Hua F, Chen Y, Zhan F, Xu G. Sleep Deprivation Induces Cognitive Impairment by Increasing Blood-Brain Barrier Permeability via CD44. Front Neurol. 2020;11:563916.
- He J, Hsuchou H, He Y, Kastin AJ, Wang Y, Pan W. Sleep restriction impairs blood-brain barrier function. J Neurosci. 2014;34(44):14697-14706.
