Our brains need a constant supply of energy to function well—but new research from the University of Kentucky has revealed that the way the brain senses and uses energy also plays a major role in how we sleep.
The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest that tiny energy-sensing channels in the brain help regulate when and how we sleep—and may even explain sleep problems in conditions like Alzheimer’s, epilepsy, and diabetes.
The study was led by Nicholas Constantino, a neuroscience Ph.D. student working in the lab of Dr. Shannon Macauley at the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging. The research team focused on specific channels in the brain called ATP-sensitive potassium (KATP) channels. These act like “fuel gauges” inside brain cells, helping them measure and respond to changes in energy levels.
While KATP channels have long been known for linking energy use to cell activity in muscles and the pancreas, their role in the brain—and especially in sleep—had remained unclear until now.
“We discovered that KATP channels, which help connect metabolism and brain activity, also play a critical role in regulating sleep,” said Dr. Macauley. “We didn’t fully appreciate how much fuel use impacts the quality of our sleep and even our behavior when we’re awake.”
To better understand this connection, the researchers used mouse models that lacked KATP channels and monitored their brain activity with EEG (electroencephalogram) technology.
What they found was striking: without these energy sensors, mice had trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, and smoothly moving between different stages of sleep like slow-wave (deep) sleep and REM (rapid eye movement) sleep.
The study also revealed something surprising: KATP channels follow a daily rhythm—they naturally rise and fall across the day, in sync with the body’s internal clock. This suggests that the brain’s ability to sense fuel changes over the course of the day, potentially helping it regulate when we sleep and wake.
One key discovery involved lactate, a byproduct of brain activity and a fuel source. The researchers found that KATP channels help regulate lactate levels in the brain, and this in turn appears to affect the ability to switch between being awake and asleep.
When these channels aren’t working properly, brain cells lose their ability to “read” energy levels, leading to disruptions in important processes like making neurotransmitters—chemicals that help brain cells communicate. This, in turn, was linked to impaired memory and increased anxiety in the mouse models.
“Our study shows that even small changes in how the brain senses energy can have a big impact on behavior and mental health,” said Macauley.
This research is especially important for understanding why people with Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, and diabetes often have sleep problems. All three conditions are associated with altered KATP channel activity. The researchers suggest that fixing or enhancing the function of these channels might help restore normal sleep patterns in these individuals.
An exciting aspect of the findings is that drugs targeting KATP channels already exist and are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for other uses, like treating diabetes. This raises the possibility of repurposing these drugs—or developing new ones—to help improve sleep in people with neurological or metabolic conditions.
Review and Analysis
This study sheds new light on the deep connection between metabolism and sleep. While it’s long been known that what and when we eat can influence our sleep, this research shows that the brain’s own energy sensors are directly involved in managing our sleep cycles.
By identifying KATP channels as key players, the researchers have opened up an exciting new pathway for understanding and possibly treating sleep disorders.
What makes this research especially powerful is its potential clinical impact. Because KATP channels are already drug targets in other diseases, scientists could move quickly to test whether adjusting these channels can help people sleep better—especially those with Alzheimer’s or diabetes, where both sleep and brain metabolism are disrupted.
This work also reminds us that sleep isn’t just about being tired—it’s a finely tuned process that relies on the brain’s ability to sense and respond to energy needs. Disrupting that system, even slightly, may not only affect how we sleep, but also how we think, feel, and function during the day.
In the future, therapies that restore normal energy sensing in the brain may provide a new way to help people with chronic sleep issues—not just by forcing sleep with sedatives, but by helping the brain naturally find its own rhythm again.
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The research findings can be found in PNAS.
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