The combination of two brain waves, known as sleeping spindles, and slow waves, predict an increase in body sensitivity to insulin that, consequently and beneficially, reduces blood glucose levels.
Scientists at the University of California Berkeley (USA) have found a potential mechanism in humans that could explain the link between certain types of brain waves and the sensitivity of the body to insulin, improving the general control of blood sugar.
For years, researchers have studied how the coupling of sleep sparkings with non -fast eye movements and slow and deep brain waves corresponded to a completely different function: that of learning and memory.In fact, the same team of UC Berkeley researchers previously discovered that the brain waves of deep sleep improved the capacity of the hippocampus, the part of the brain associated with learning, to retain information.
"These synchronized brain waves act like a finger that moves the first dominoes to start an associated chain reaction from the brain, to the heart and then to alter the regulation of the blood sugar in the body of the body," said Matthew Walker, professorof UC Berkeley.of neuroscience and psychology and main author of the new study."In particular, the combination of two brain waves, called sleep and slow waves, predict an increase in body sensitivity to the hormone called insulin, which consequently and beneficially reduces blood glucose levels."
Now, the findings, published in the magazine ´cell Reports Medicine´, reveal a novel and previously not recognized role for these combined brain waves in humans when it comes to the critical body function of blood sugar control.
First, they discovered that the strongest and most frequent coupling of the brain waves of deep sleep predicted a change in the state of the body's nervous system to the most inactive and soothing branch, called parasympathetic nervous system.They measured that change in the body and the change to this under stress state using the variability of heart rate as an indicator.
The researchers also discovered that this change in deep sleep to the soothing branch of the nervous system predicted greater sensitivity of the body to the glucose regulatory hormone called insulin, which instructs the cells to absorb the glucose of the bloodstream, avoiding a peakharmful of blood sugar.This is particularly important for people trying to get away from hyperglycemia and type 2 diabetes.
Therefore, this new research can help people better control their blood sugar level."Beyond revealing a new mechanism, our results also show that these brain waves of deep sleep could be used as a sensitive marker of someone's blood sugar levels the next day, rather than traditional sleep metrics," he concludedThe researcher Vyoma D. Shah.
