Circadian health expert and medical scientist Logan Pendergrast, Ph.D., explains why air quality and ventilation are essential for quality sleep. Research shows that high levels of carbon dioxide during the night can impair cognition and leave the brain feeling foggy upon waking, making clean air a vital part of restorative rest.
In this segment, Dr. Pendergrast highlights how proper ventilation and air quality improvements help support clearer thinking, deeper sleep, and more consistent recovery. By paying attention to the atmosphere in the sleep space, individuals can reduce hidden disruptions and wake up feeling more refreshed.
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Neurotransmitters are signaling
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molecules that exist within the brain
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and they interact with our brain in this
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complex chemical feedback mechanism that
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helps us manage our wakefulness and our
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sleepiness. And one of the primary
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neurotransmitters that's responsible for
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managing our sleepiness is called
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adenosine. So, denosine accumulates
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throughout the day and dampens our
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body's wakefulness properties and it's
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responsible for a condition or a state
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that's called sleep pressure. And it's
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quite literally what it sounds like,
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which is the pressure that our body
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feels to go to sleep. And you'll notice
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that this is usually elevated after
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we've been awake for some period of
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time. Another neurotransmitter that's
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responsible for this kind of restful,
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sleepy state is called GABA. Now, GABA
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is our brain's primary inhibitory
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neurotransmitter and it reduces the
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overall neural activity and it fosters a
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general calm state. Now, on the inverse
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of these sleepromoting
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neurotransmitters, we have transmitters
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that initiate wakefulness and one of the
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primary neurotransmitters for that is
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called ereexen. Sorexin
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is maintaining wakefulness and it's also
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maintaining our alertness and it's
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actually a deficiency in erexen that is
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responsible for this condition that's
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known as narcolepsy which is a condition
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that is characterized by these sudden
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uncontrollable bouts of sleep when we're
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typically awake.
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Now an additional neurotransmitter that
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we'll mention here is called serotonin.
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So we may have heard serotonin
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mentioned as a neurotransmitter that's
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responsible for elevated mood or really
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managing how we feel throughout the day.
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But neurotransmitter um serotonin is a
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precursor to melatonin which is a um
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neurotransmitter or actually a hormone
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that is responsible for dropping our
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body temperature as we approach sleep to
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help us reach a more restful state so
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that we can reach the deeper levels of
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sleep. So just in summary, these
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molecules and their coordination in our
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brain help us manage our sleep wake
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cycle and help us maintain our
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functional abilities as we move
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throughout our day. So,
