Clearing Brain of Metabolic Waste.

• Position: SLEEP-AID DEVICE

Soon, someone feeling the need for some extra sleep may benefit from a wearable device that aids the brain in the biochemical cleansing that leaves a person feeling refreshed after a full night of rest. As part of the first large-scale study on the effectiveness of the new technology, Montana State University researchers will analyze brain scans of participants who wear a prototype of the device, which works by applying precise electrical stimulation to the brain. The project involves multiple universities.

'The hope is that this can make sleep more effective or even create some of the same benefits while a person is awake," says Jeff Heys, professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. "It's a really exciting development."

The project comes in the wake of recent discoveries about the importance of the glymphatic system, which, during slumber, clears the brain of the metabolic waste that builds up during waking activity.

As explained in a popular TED Talk by project coleader Jeffrey lliff, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and neurology at the University of Washington School of Medicine, when neurons calm during sleep, the brain opens space along vessels and between neurons that allows cerebral spinal fluid to wash across brain cells and...