Eyes play a critical role during sleep, study finds

Eyes play a critical role during sleep, study finds

In the quiet hours of the night, while your body rests, your brain is busy. It’s sorting through the day’s moments, filing some away as lasting memories, and brushing off others. Scientists have long known sleep helps memory, but new research has revealed a hidden process that explains how the brain keeps old memories safe while adding new ones. Researchers from a Cornell University have discovered that the pupil of the eye—long known to respond…

For years, researchers have explored the complex origins of Alzheimer's disease, trying to identify the most influential risk factors. If age, genetics or lifestyles are now well known, a new data gradually imposes as a pillar of prevention it is sleep. Specifically, a certain type of sleep cycle, observed in people over the age of 60, seems to play a protective role against cognitive degeneration. This discovery, supported by a recent study, co…