The Neurolymphatic System and Dreaming: A New Hypothesis on the True Importance of REM Sleep and Disparities in Sleep Requirements Between Individuals and Species

Until recently, scientists believed that the brain had no lymphatic system and that dreaming was simply some sort of mystery, perhaps a method for enhancing memory consolidation. This was a notion that was rooted in the fact that dreams often are inspired by events of the prior day. However, now that it is understood that the brain does, in fact, have a lymphatic system, albeit one that functions differently from the body’s primary lymphatic system, we can conclude that the function of sleep is most likely to give the brain a chance to dissipate waste chemicals that results from normal function throughout the day.