False Recovery When Waken from Deep Sleep, Explained

I wrote about feeling recovered sometimes when waken in the middle of night after 5 or so hours of sleep. Today, there was an article about cerebral fluid washing away metabolic waste from brain during the deep sleep phase. So I did some search, and this idea has been around for a while. In summary, the blood flow to the brain during deep sleep is reduced because neurons fire synchronously thereby reducing the energy need. That allows the wave of cerebral fluid to rush in and wash away the brain waste.

What if the fatigue is caused by the lactate buildup in the brain? The lactate buildup, along with inflammation, has been reported in CFS, TBI and aging brain. They all suffer from inordinate fatigue.  The lactate could be washed away during deep sleep cycle, and if you get waken up after that cycle, you could feel fatigue-less. The lactate then quickly builds up again in the inflamed brain and the ever-present fatigue returns.

Then there is also worsening of fatigue and ache during the sleep. The body, as well as the brain, is trying to repair itself during the sleep and waves of inflammation washes over the body. The inflammation then causes the quaking fatigue and ache while sleeping. This body washing could be happening in different phases from the brain washing, resulting in alternating fatigue and relief during the sleep.

Healthy people don't feel peaks and valleys of fatigue/ache while sleeping. For CFS folks who are hypersensitive though, the highs and lows are exaggerated.