“Sleep is important because it weakens the connections among brain cells to save energy, avoid cellular stress and maintain the ability of neurons to respond selectively to stimuli,” said Giulio Tononi of the UW centre for sleep and consciousness.
The sleep scientists developed a model called synaptic homeostasis hypothesis of sleep (SHY) challenging the theory that sleep strengthens brain connections.
During the waking hours, learning strengthens the synaptic connections throughout the brain, increasing the need for energy and saturating the brain with new information.
