High concentrations of these enzymes, which act as biomarkers, indicate that there is cell damage in the brain that could lead to cognitive and memory problems. The levels found in the study were not as high as you would find in someone with a concussion, indicating brain cell damage was minimal.

However, the presence of higher concentrations of these enzymes helps to explain the brain fog that follows a sleepless night.
A separate study published in the journal Science showed that your brain actually cleans out toxins while you sleep. According to the researchers in the study, cerebrospinal fluid builds up in the brain while you sleep and washes away the toxins that accumulated during the day. One of the study’s authors, Dr. Maiken Nedergaard, says in this way sleep is “like a dishwasher.” This spring season, be sure to get plenty of rest. It will restore your body and clean out toxins from your brain. This is spring cleaning anyone can get excited about.

References
1 Benedict C; Cedernaes J; Giedraitis V; Nilsson EK; Hogenkamp PS; Vågesjö E; Massena S; Pettersson U; Christoffersson G; Phillipson M; Broman JE; Lannfelt L; Zetterberg H; Schiöth HB. “Acute Sleep Deprivation Increases Serum Levels of Neuron-Specific Enolase (NSE) and S100 Calcium Binding Protein B (S-100B) in Healthy Young Men.” SLEEP. 2014; 37(1):195-198. Web. 30 Jan. 2014
2 Lulu Xie, Hongyi Kang, Qiwu Xu, Michael J. Chen, Yonghong Liao, Meenakshisundaram Thiyagarajan, John O’Donnell, Daniel J. Christensen, Charles Nicholson, Jeffrey J. Iliff, Takahiro Takano, Rashid Deane, and Maiken Nedergaard.. “Sleep Drives Metabolite Clearance from the Adult Brain.” Science. 18 October 2013: 342 (6156), 373-377. [DOI:10.1126/science.1241224]. Web. 30 Jan. 2014