Most of us with MS are constantly on the lookout for things we can do to be proactive about protecting our brain matter. Usually, these things include changes in diet and exercise as well as the use of supplements and practices like meditation and yoga.
One thing we might overlook, however, is the value of sleep to maintain brain health.
Myelin 101
To better understand how sleep can be a force for good in protecting our brain matter, we need to remember why myelin is so important to our brain health. A recent special issue article published in Glia focuses on the ways in which the body can tend to the process of myelination.1
Myelination, demyelination, remyelination
Remember, myelin is the waxy coating that insulates every nerve fiber in our body, including the billions cached inside the brain. These nerve fibers are described as “myelinated” in healthy people.
Myelin exists as a kind of soft armor that allows for the sending and receiving of electrical signals to and from the brain.
Any time the myelin coating is damaged, it increases the risk that signals will be slowed or disrupted entirely, depending upon the amount of damage.
People with MS have lesions that are composed of damaged (or demyelinated) nerves in their central nervous systems (CNS)— specifically, the brain and spinal cord. Since the brain is tied to every single process and function inherent to the body—from thinking to breathing to digesting to sweating to healing—the problem of damage to myelin can be a significant source of disability.
Can the brain repair myelin?
The brain does have some means to remyelinate, or repair damaged myelin. However, in people with MS, this requires time and space for the repair to occur. MS often has other plans, bombarding the brain with attacks involving immune system cells that target the myelin.
For those with relapsing-remitting forms of MS, periods of time and space between exacerbations may allow for some repair (remyelination), but for those with progressive and highly active forms of MS, there may never be time or space for this to occur. To read this article in its entirety click here: Myelin Relies on Good Sleep.