REM sleep is one of the most active and restorative stages of rest. In this NightOwling lesson, circadian health expert and medical scientist Logan Pendergrast, Ph.D., explains how REM sleep activates the brain’s glymphatic system to clear metabolic waste and support neural recovery.
Dr. Pendergrast also details how this stage helps integrate memories, regulate emotions, and strengthen decision-making pathways. Scientific findings show that brain fluid flow increases by roughly 60 percent during REM sleep, emphasizing its role in maintaining long-term cognitive health.
This lesson reveals why REM sleep is essential to both mental performance and emotional stability.
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So speaking of essential parts of our
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sleep process that make us feel good,
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we'll talk about REM sleep. So REM
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sleep, it stands for rapid eye movement
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sleep and it is thought of as the
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cleanup crew part of our sleep process.
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During REM sleep, we see an activation
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of the body's glimpmphatic system which
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is responsible for clearing out a lot of
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the junk, a lot of these proteins and
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toxins that are accumulating throughout
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the day. they're recognized at this
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point and cleared out at an elevated
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rate versus when we are normally awake.
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Uh, REM sleep also helps us to organize
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memories and our emotions. It helps us
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to compartmentalize experiences that
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we've had during the day and helps to
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support our learning and our decision-m
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functions.
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Inversely, we see that losses in REM
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sleep are thought to contribute to
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elevated feelings of anxiousness that we
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feel after a restless night. And in the
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scientific research, we see that the
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brain fluid flow, so the activation of
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this glimpmphatic system is 60% higher
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during REM sleep than it is during
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periods of wakefulness. Meaning that the
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brain is focused during REM sleep on
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cleaning itself
