Brain fluid expulsion causes attention lapses during sleep deprivation

Sleep deprivation causes the brain to briefly expel fluid, leading to attention lapses. This is the brain's attempt to clean itself during wakefulness. New MIT research shows cerebrospinal fluid moves out of the brain during attention failures, a process normally occurring during sleep for waste removal. This cleaning comes at the cost of focus. The study links these lapses to slowed breathing, heart rate, and pupil constriction, suggesting a coordinated brain and body response to missed rest.