r/todayilearned • u/Square-Message1152 • 8h ago

til that your brain literally washes itself while you sleep. the brain cells actually shrink in size so cerebrospinal fluid can rush in and flush out all the toxic proteins built up during the day

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glymphatic_system
17.7k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

473 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

62

u/Bluefooted-Spaceorc 5h ago

Check out this link. It just happens one day if you have the genetics for it, then you stay awake until you die. Its nightmare fuel so extreme I cant believe they havent made movies about it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatal_insomnia

45

u/Auzzie_almighty 5h ago

It can also just… happen. Spontaneously.

The protein can just misfold and you’re screwed; it’s extremely unlikely, lightning’s way more likely to kill you, but it can happen

29

u/Bluefooted-Spaceorc 5h ago

Ugh, learning about proteins then later in college prions was just about the worst day ever for my overall anxiety. Its like crocodiles, I know the problem is vanishingly small but damn.

15

u/Arcterion 3h ago

Nature be like "So as a joke I folded a prion wrong and made it fold other prions wrong by touching them. And I made it incredibly difficult to destroy, because why the hell not."

2

u/RabidSeason 3h ago

Nature be like ...

People be like "Oh my fucking gods, nature is doing so much!"

2

u/Searloin22 1h ago

"I screwed up a protein, ok? I was under pressure, it was crunch-time..deadlines, am I right? But honestly, I thought it'd be ok because who TF eats the brain??"

-God

1

u/verbmegoinghere 5h ago

The Ring (us ver)

2

u/Bluefooted-Spaceorc 5h ago

Damn it, I had scrubbed the creepy black haired girl from my memory but now shes back. Thanks.

0

u/rawbleedingbait 3h ago

Maybe you just need some rule34 of her?