Your Brain Needs Downtime to Thrive

In partnership with

What does down time and recovery look like in terms of our brain health?

We just got done with spring break but with a long, event filled trip, it was hardly relaxing 😃 But changing focus can certainly rejuvinate at least me. In this week’s newsletter we’ll go over some evidence for such.

In This Edition

1. Brain Health News

2. Brain Hack of the Week

3. Reflections from the OR

4. Neuroscience Insight

5. Final Thoughts

🧠 Brain Wave Therapy Shows Promise in Fighting Alzheimer's

A gentle, non-invasive treatment using specific sound and light patterns might help people with Alzheimer's disease live better lives.

Scientists at MIT have found that exposing the brain to rhythmic patterns at 40Hz (40 times per second) could help fight Alzheimer's disease. This discovery, made at the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, opens new doors for treating this challenging condition that affects millions worldwide.

The treatment is surprisingly simple - it uses light and sound waves tuned to specific frequencies. What makes this approach special is that it's completely non-invasive, meaning patients don't need surgery or drugs. Think of it like giving your brain a gentle massage using invisible waves.

Back in 2016, MIT researchers first showed that this type of stimulation could help clear out harmful proteins that build up in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. These proteins, called amyloid and tau, are like garbage that needs to be cleaned out. The 40Hz waves seem to kick the brain's cleaning system into high gear.

But how does it actually work? When your brain gets these 40Hz signals, special cells called interneurons release a substance called VIP. This helps activate the brain's cleanup crew - imagine tiny janitors sweeping away the harmful proteins through the brain's waste removal system (called the glymphatic system).

The real excitement came when researchers moved from testing mice to humans. A company called Cognito Therapeutics, working with MIT, ran tests showing that people with Alzheimer's who received this treatment showed better thinking skills and less brain shrinkage compared to those who didn't get the treatment. Right now, they're running bigger trials to prove just how well it works.

Scientists in other parts of the world are joining in too. Researchers in China found more evidence that these brain waves help clean the brain, while scientists at Harvard Medical School used similar techniques to reduce harmful tau proteins in human subjects.

Looking ahead, this research might help more than just Alzheimer's patients. Scientists think similar treatments could work for other brain conditions like Parkinson's disease, brain injuries, and multiple sclerosis.

TLDR:

• Scientists discovered that 40Hz brain stimulation helps fight Alzheimer's

• The treatment uses simple light and sound waves

• It helps clear harmful proteins from the brain

• Human trials show promising results

• More research is ongoing to prove its effectiveness

• Could potentially help with other brain conditions too

Read more about this breakthrough research

Brain Hack of the Week

🛋️ Hack:
Use the 5-Minute Mind Dump to improve sleep quality and wake up feeling refreshed and focused.

⏳ Time Required: 5 minutes

💭 Why It Works:
This technique clears your mind by offloading thoughts and worries, reducing stress and anxiety, which helps you relax and fall asleep more easily.

How to Do It:
1️⃣ Keep a notepad or journal beside your bed.
2️⃣ Before sleep, write down all your thoughts, worries, and tasks for the next day.
3️⃣ Once you've written everything down, give yourself permission to let go of these thoughts.
4️⃣ Close your notebook and focus on relaxing, knowing you can address everything in the morning.

Use this technique every night to enhance your sleep and wake up feeling more refreshed and ready for the day!

Ready to level up your work with AI?

HubSpot’s free guide to using ChatGPT at work is your new cheat code to go from working hard to hardly working

HubSpot’s guide will teach you:

• How to prompt like a pro

• How to integrate AI in your personal workflow

• Over 100+ useful prompt ideas

All in order to help you unleash the power of AI for a more efficient, impactful professional life.

Get the free guide and level up your AI game today!

Reflections from the OR

There is likely nothing earth shattering about the benefits of recharging and resting. In the short term sleep deprivation can be as impairing as alcohol. It is the reason airline pilots don’t fly tired.

That’s not always a luxury afforded in neurosurgery. Indeed most neurosurgeons taking call are doing it at 24 hour or longer stretches. The trade off of course being more surgeons and thus fewer operations per surgeon. And of course experience and volume matter at least as much.

Even longer time aways is difficult. Like many working professionals it is nearly impossible for me to take a ‘vacation’ and not get patient calls or check my work email. But even with shift work and schedules like this there are clear ways to prioritize rest and recovery. Whether you’re solving problems at work, making tough decisions, or just trying to be present for your family, your brain needs structured recovery to function at its best. True rest isn’t just sleep—it’s time away from constant input, deep focus on something enjoyable, and moments of mental stillness.

So, if you’re feeling burned out, take it as a sign. Your brain, like any high-performance system, needs downtime to function at its peak. And sometimes, the smartest thing you can do isn’t pushing harder—it’s stepping back to recharge. Making even simple brief time to turn away and rest is really important. It is something I am trying to do more intentionally.

🗑️ Your Brain Cleans Itself While You Sleep

One of the most fascinating discoveries in neuroscience over the past decade is the glymphatic system—the brain’s waste clearance pathway. Unlike the rest of the body, the brain lacks traditional lymphatic vessels. Instead, it relies on this specialized system, which is most active during deep sleep to remove metabolic waste, including amyloid-beta and tau proteins associated with neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.

During deep sleep, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flows more freely through the brain, flushing out toxins and reducing inflammation. This process is particularly efficient when slow-wave sleep (SWS) is dominant, highlighting the importance of high-quality, uninterrupted sleep for long-term brain health.

Chronic sleep deprivation disrupts this system, leading to waste accumulation, increased neuroinflammation, and impaired cognitive function. This is why proper rest isn’t just about feeling refreshed—it’s a critical neuroprotective strategy.

So, if you needed another reason to prioritize deep sleep, think of it as giving your brain a nightly detox.

Final Thoughts

What are you going to do to prioritize rest this week? I’m planning for the same time in bed every night, no caffeine 8 hours before and no blue light (i.e. phone or other screen) an hour before.

Stay sharp,

Colin