😴 TestNeuroscience8 questions~3 min
Is your sleep protecting your brain?
Sleep is not downtime: it's when the brain consolidates memory and, in animals, clears metabolic waste more efficiently. This test is based on simple, documented criteria. Think about the past two weeks.
This test is not a diagnostic tool. If you snore loudly with breathing pauses noticed by someone else, or you are persistently sleepy during the day, talk to your doctor: it can point to sleep apnoea.
What this content is based on
The 8 questions are original (not statistically validated). They draw on consensus-recommendation criteria (at least 7 hours of sleep for adults), studies on sleep regularity and social jetlag, and trials on caffeine and screens. Note: brain "cleaning" by the glymphatic system has been shown in mice; in humans the evidence is more indirect. This test does not measure the objective quality of your sleep (that would take polysomnography).
Reviewed in 2026-10
Going further: read the article : The glymphatic system — the brain's nightly cleanup
References
- Watson, N. F., Badr, M. S., Belenky, G., et al. (2015). Joint consensus statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society on the recommended amount of sleep for a healthy adult. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 11(8), 931–952. DOI PubMed
- Windred, D. P., Burns, A. C., Lane, J. M., et al. (2024). Sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration: A prospective cohort study. Sleep, 47(1), zsad253. DOI PubMed
- Roenneberg, T., Allebrandt, K. V., Merrow, M., & Vetter, C. (2012). Social jetlag and obesity. Current Biology, 22(10), 939–943. DOI PubMed
- Van Dongen, H. P. A., Maislin, G., Mullington, J. M., & Dinges, D. F. (2003). The cumulative cost of additional wakefulness: Dose-response effects on neurobehavioral functions and sleep physiology from chronic sleep restriction and total sleep deprivation. Sleep, 26(2), 117–126. DOI PubMed
- Drake, C., Roehrs, T., Shambroom, J., & Roth, T. (2013). Caffeine effects on sleep taken 0, 3, or 6 hours before going to bed. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 9(11), 1195–1200. DOI PubMed
- Chang, A.-M., Aeschbach, D., Duffy, J. F., & Czeisler, C. A. (2015). Evening use of light-emitting eReaders negatively affects sleep, circadian timing, and next-morning alertness. PNAS, 112(4), 1232–1237. DOI PubMed
- Qaseem, A., Kansagara, D., Forciea, M. A., Cooke, M., & Denberg, T. D. (2016). Management of chronic insomnia disorder in adults: A clinical practice guideline from the American College of Physicians. Annals of Internal Medicine, 165(2), 125–133. DOI PubMed
- Chung, F., Yegneswaran, B., Liao, P., et al. (2008). STOP questionnaire: A tool to screen patients for obstructive sleep apnea. Anesthesiology, 108(5), 812–821. PubMed
- Xie, L., Kang, H., Xu, Q., et al. (2013). Sleep drives metabolite clearance from the adult brain. Science, 342(6156), 373–377.
References checked via PubMed (National Library of Medicine). DOI links lead to the original publications.