The sleeping position you adopt may affect your risk of developing diseases such as Alzheimer's, new research suggests.
Those who sleep on their side, as opposed to on their back or front, appear able to clear our more of the day's chemical clutter from their brain while they rest.
Researchers say that given that many more humans and animals sleep on their side, this could be an evolutionary way to try and protect the brain from disease.
It has already been established that while we sleep, the brain is hard at work removing toxins produced during our waking hours.
Left to build up, these compounds can result in Alzheimer’s and other neurological diseases.
Sleeping on your side, as opposed to other positions such as on your back or stomach may more effectively remove brain waste - a contributor to the development of neurological disorders
Previous research from the University of Rochester in New York found that unlike the rest of the body, which depends on the lymphatic system to drain away toxins, the brain has its own separate method of rubbish removal.
In fact the researchers concluded the clean-up process is so energy intensive, it would hinder our thinking if done when we are awake - hence the need to sleep.
‘The brain only has limited energy at its disposal and it appears that it must choice between two
different functional states - awake and aware or asleep and cleaning up,’ said Dr Maiken Nedergaard, who led that study.
You can think of it like having a house party. You can either entertain the guests or clean up the house, but you can’t really do both at the same time.’
Now, working with researchers at Stony Brook University, the team has moved these findings on - and say sleeping in a side position may more effectively remove this brain waste.
Therefore, sleeping in a side position was found to be 'an important practice to help reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other neurological diseases'.
Indeed, these conditions have preciously been dubbed 'dirty brain diseases' - as they are linked to a
The brain’s glymphatic pathway clears harmful wastes, especially during sleep, to help prevent the build of harmful chemicals associated with Alzheimer's (pictured)
The new study involved looking at the brain's cleaning system - also known as the glymphatic system - using MRI scans in rats.
In particular, the researchers were keen to see in which sleeping position this system was most effective at removing waste from the brain - sideways (lateral), facing down (prone) or faing up (supine).
They found that sleeping sideways was 'consistently' the most effective way to clear the brain of toxins, when compared to the other two.
Furthermore, in humans and many animals this is the most common sleeping position, they noted, reporting their findings in the Journal of Neuroscience.
'It is interesting that the lateral sleep position is already the most popular in human and most animals – even in the wild, said Dr Nedergaard.
'It appears that we have adapted the lateral sleep position to most efficiently clear our brain of the metabolic waste products that built up while we are awake.'
He added: 'The study therefore adds further support to the concept that sleep subserves a distinct biological function of sleep and that is to 'clean up' the mess that accumulates while we are awake.
Study co-author, Dr Helene Benveniste, added that many types of dementia are linked to sleep disturbances, including difficulties in falling asleep.
And it is increasing acknowledged that these sleep disturbances may accelerate memory loss in Alzheimer's disease.
'Our finding brings new insight into this topic by showing it is also important what position you sleep in,' she explained.
'Because of this finding, we propose that body posture and sleep quality should be considered when assessing the clearance of damaging brain proteins that may contribute to or cause brain diseases.'
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