Scientists: Parts of the brain shrink when we sleep

Scientists say parts of our brain shrink when we sleep and that's a good thing.

They're learning more about the restorative power of sleep by studying the brain synapses of mice.

The smaller connections decrease in size with sleep.

This makes room for new memories and to learn new information.

They found the size of larger connections, or synapses, stayed the same.

They believe those areas are associated with long-term memories.

But overall, this is a reminder how sleep helps reset the brain. And this is why if you don't get enough sleep, you can have trouble thinking and remembering.