Sleep helps the brain enter repair mode to clean up free radicals, Chinese study finds
Sleep serves as the brain's nightly clean-up crew, flushing out harmful oxygen-derived free radicals that accumulate during wakefulness, Chinese scientists have discovered in a landmark study.
The research published in Cell Metabolism on May 15 deciphers how hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), a reactive by-product of metabolism, acts as a molecular signal to trigger sleep and restore balance in the brain.
By confirming a decades-old hypothesis, the team found that when H₂O₂ levels rise in sleep-regulating neurons, the brain switches to 'repair mode,' prompting restorative slumber.
06:23
Can China claim the leadership mantle after the US quits the WHO and Paris Agreement?
Can China claim the leadership mantle after the US quits the WHO and Paris Agreement?
Excess build-up of these free radicals disrupts
sleep quality and sparks inflammation, offering critical insights into
age-related insomnia and degenerative diseases such as
Alzheimer's disease
This breakthrough not only solves a long-standing mystery of why sleep is biologically essential but also opens pathways for therapies targeting oxidative stress to combat sleep disorders.
While scientists around the globe have identified some molecular changes that occur in the brain during sleep, Liu Danqian, a researcher from the Shanghai-based Centre for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, an affiliate of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who led the study, said this was 'the first time' they had fully delineated how a molecule specifically functioned in the brain.
Just as a person seeks food when they are hungry or water when they are thirsty, this type of instinctive behaviour is known in neuroscience as 'homeostatic regulation' – the body's ability to maintain a stable internal environment.
One mystery scientists have been exploring is what kinds of material changes in the brain trigger homeostatic regulation of sleep, according to Liu.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
80% of Hong Kong's disadvantaged children suffer nutritional imbalance: survey
Eight in 10 children from low-income families in Hong Kong suffer from serious nutritional imbalance, with less than 14 per cent getting enough dairy, a survey has found. Advertisement The People Service Centre on Tuesday released the findings of a four-year study that monitored 426 children, aged three to 11, from underprivileged households, including those living in public housing and substandard accommodation such as subdivided flats and cubicle rooms. The study, conducted by the poverty-focused NGO in collaboration with the Hong Kong Community Dietitian Association and Emeritus Professor in Public Health and Primary Care Albert Lee at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, showed that 80 per cent of the children had a serious nutritional imbalance, with only 13.6 per cent meeting the dairy intake target set by the Department of Health. About 60 per cent of the children had insufficient intake of both fruits and vegetables. Nearly half failed to meet the recommended grain intake, while close to 40 per cent did not consume enough meat. 'There were at least 40 per cent of children who did not meet the standards in each of the five major food categories,' Gloria Yeung Tan-ping, a project officer at the centre, said. 'The figures reflected the serious nutritional imbalance in children, and the intake level will affect their growth.' Advertisement The department recommends a daily balanced diet for children aged two to five that includes 1.5 to three bowls of grains, at least 1.5 servings of vegetables, at least one serving of fruit, up to 111 grams of meat, fish, egg and alternatives, and two servings of milk or alternatives.
South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Philippines HIV cases jump 500%, prompting ‘public health emergency' warning
Philippine medical authorities on Tuesday warned of a looming 'public health emergency' as HIV infections have soared this year, with young males especially hard hit. Advertisement On average, 57 new cases a day were tallied in the country of 117 million people over the first three months of 2025, a 500 per cent jump from a year earlier, health department data shows. 'We now have the highest number of new cases here in the Western Pacific,' Health Secretary Ted Herbosa said in a video message released on Tuesday. 'What is frightening is, our youth make up many of the new cases,' he said. 'It would be in our interest to [declare] a public health emergency, a national emergency for HIV to mobilise the entire society, the whole of government to help us in this campaign to reduce the number of new HIV cases,' Herbosa added. Advertisement The health department said 95 per cent of newly reported cases were male, with 33 per cent aged 15–24 and 47 per cent aged 25–34.
South China Morning Post
7 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Philippines faces HIV ‘public health emergency' as new cases jump 50%
Philippine medical authorities on Tuesday warned of a looming 'public health emergency' as HIV infections have soared this year, with young males especially hard hit. On average, 57 new cases a day were tallied in the country of 117 million people over the first three months of 2025, a 50 per cent jump from a year earlier, health department data shows. 'We now have the highest number of new cases here in the Western Pacific,' Health Secretary Ted Herbosa said in a video message released on Tuesday. 'What is frightening is, our youth make up many of the new cases,' he said. 'It would be in our interest to [declare] a public health emergency, a national emergency for HIV to mobilise the entire society, the whole of government to help us in this campaign to reduce the number of new HIV cases,' Herbosa added. The health department said 95 per cent of newly reported cases were male, with 33 per cent aged 15–24 and 47 per cent aged 25–34.
