5 ms·

I have a pet theory, based on sensations I've experienced, that: A. 'sleep cleaning the brain' is real B. The things that are expelled from the brain are expe

by ajkjk 8y ago

I have a pet theory, based on sensations I've experienced, that: A. 'sleep cleaning the brain' is real B. The things that are expelled from the brain are expelled through the sinuses C. If you are sleep deprived enough, you can feel this process happening while you're awake

2bitencryption 8y ago
well that's a scary thought, because -- my mom's side of the family has a continuously running history of early-onset Alzheimer, AND terrible sinus problems. my sinuses are expelling so much goop on a constant basis that by the end of the day my teeth are covered in a layer of slime.
- ghthor 8y ago
  You may want to eat less dairy, I've found that milk in particular seems to increase the amount of mucous my sinuses and lungs produce.
- DrJosiah 8y ago
  You may be allergic to something, and/or you could have an infection. A 3x former coworker and friend had a sinus infection that wouldn't go away. Like 10 years. Had his tonsils removed, etc. He finally cut out everything in his diet, and eventually discovered that despite not being gluten sensitive, celiacs, crohns, IBS, etc., or allergic (he got the allergy scrapes too), not eating bread / barley / wheat was the thing. Whether it was bacterial, fungal, or 'not allergic unless I eat it' type thing, the answer was the same: change your diet, write everything down, see what happens. Another family friend who had sinus issues and allergies for 30+ years ended up going keto. In the process of losing 20 pounds (in the last 4 months, so far), she also is no longer allergic to Norwegian spring/summer. Don't know if it was the sugar, starch, etc., but low/no carb basically changed her life. Note: I'm not a medical doctor. The above are anecdotes. But changing your diet could seriously change your life. Give it a shot!
  - philsnow 8y ago
    "change your diet, write everything down, see what happens" if any reader wants to go this route, "whole 30" is a relatively well-known "elimination diet" that omits the vast majority of the things that cause food sensitivities in people. the idea is you do a 30 day purge with an allow-list of foods, and after that you can slowly reintroduce individual things and keep track of how you feel. a benefit of using a well-known diet over any other one is that finding recipes etc is much easier when there's an entire subculture of "whole 30" food bloggers.
    - cyphar 8y ago
      Or you can go to an immunotherapist for a prick test and be told precisely what you're allergic to (in addition to being given a recommendation for immunotherapy treatments) in a matter of minutes.
      - yosito 8y ago
        I went to an immunotherapist six times and they were unable to determine my allergies. After a whole year, I finally figured out on my own though an elimination diet that I'm allergic to eggs.
sunir 8y ago
Could just be anxiety and tension headaches making you feel like your sinusitis is caused by sleep, rather than masked by it. It’s common enough.
- ajkjk 8y ago
  I don't have sinusitis or tension headaches. When I've stayed up many hours into the night I get a particular sensation of vibration in my sinuses and a compulsion to breathe deeply through them.
JohnJamesRambo 8y ago
How would your brain dump something in your sinuses??? The blood from your brain (like all your blood) is cleaned by your kidneys and liver. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dural_venous_sinuses https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dural_venous_sinuses Are you confusing those with the sinuses in your nose? Two very different kinds of sinuses.
- DrJosiah 8y ago
  https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/new-brain-cleaning-system-discovered https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/new-bra... https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/lymphatic-vessels-discovered-central-nervous-system https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/lymphat... Lymphatic system does connect to the circulatory system, so can eventually be handled by the kidneys, liver, etc. But it's not necessarily a direct path, according to recent research.
  - pygy_ 8y ago
    The glymphatic system collects into the cephalospinal fluid, which is drained by the dural veinous sinuses through the Pacchionian/arachnoid granulations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arachnoid_granulation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arachnoid_granulation

by ajkjk 8y ago

2bitencryption 8y ago

well that's a scary thought, because -- my mom's side of the family has a continuously running history of early-onset Alzheimer, AND terrible sinus problems. my sinuses are expelling so much goop on a constant basis that by the end of the day my teeth are covered in a layer of slime.

ghthor 8y ago
You may want to eat less dairy, I've found that milk in particular seems to increase the amount of mucous my sinuses and lungs produce.
DrJosiah 8y ago
You may be allergic to something, and/or you could have an infection. A 3x former coworker and friend had a sinus infection that wouldn't go away. Like 10 years. Had his tonsils removed, etc. He finally cut out everything in his diet, and eventually discovered that despite not being gluten sensitive, celiacs, crohns, IBS, etc., or allergic (he got the allergy scrapes too), not eating bread / barley / wheat was the thing. Whether it was bacterial, fungal, or 'not allergic unless I eat it' type thing, the answer was the same: change your diet, write everything down, see what happens. Another family friend who had sinus issues and allergies for 30+ years ended up going keto. In the process of losing 20 pounds (in the last 4 months, so far), she also is no longer allergic to Norwegian spring/summer. Don't know if it was the sugar, starch, etc., but low/no carb basically changed her life. Note: I'm not a medical doctor. The above are anecdotes. But changing your diet could seriously change your life. Give it a shot!
- philsnow 8y ago
  "change your diet, write everything down, see what happens" if any reader wants to go this route, "whole 30" is a relatively well-known "elimination diet" that omits the vast majority of the things that cause food sensitivities in people. the idea is you do a 30 day purge with an allow-list of foods, and after that you can slowly reintroduce individual things and keep track of how you feel. a benefit of using a well-known diet over any other one is that finding recipes etc is much easier when there's an entire subculture of "whole 30" food bloggers.
  - cyphar 8y ago
    Or you can go to an immunotherapist for a prick test and be told precisely what you're allergic to (in addition to being given a recommendation for immunotherapy treatments) in a matter of minutes.
    - yosito 8y ago
      I went to an immunotherapist six times and they were unable to determine my allergies. After a whole year, I finally figured out on my own though an elimination diet that I'm allergic to eggs.

sunir 8y ago

Could just be anxiety and tension headaches making you feel like your sinusitis is caused by sleep, rather than masked by it. It’s common enough.

ajkjk 8y ago
I don't have sinusitis or tension headaches. When I've stayed up many hours into the night I get a particular sensation of vibration in my sinuses and a compulsion to breathe deeply through them.

JohnJamesRambo 8y ago

How would your brain dump something in your sinuses??? The blood from your brain (like all your blood) is cleaned by your kidneys and liver. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dural_venous_sinuses https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dural_venous_sinuses Are you confusing those with the sinuses in your nose? Two very different kinds of sinuses.

DrJosiah 8y ago
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/new-brain-cleaning-system-discovered https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/new-bra... https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/lymphatic-vessels-discovered-central-nervous-system https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/lymphat... Lymphatic system does connect to the circulatory system, so can eventually be handled by the kidneys, liver, etc. But it's not necessarily a direct path, according to recent research.
- pygy_ 8y ago
  The glymphatic system collects into the cephalospinal fluid, which is drained by the dural veinous sinuses through the Pacchionian/arachnoid granulations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arachnoid_granulation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arachnoid_granulation