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Sleep and Alzheimers

Need another reason to have better sleep? It may prevent Alzheimer?s disease.


Sleep is paramount for human functioning. It aids in memory processing, physical healing and detoxification of waste from the brain. And while we know all along that sleep is involved in the detoxification of waste from the brain, new research reveals a key link between sleep quality and the accumulation of specific proteins in the brain that causes Alzheimer?s disease.

Alzheimer?s disease is a chronic degeneration of the brain that starts slowly and gets worst over time. The most common symptom is short-term memory loss. The cause is still mostly unknown but it does involve accumulation of beta-amyloid plaques in the brain. These beta-amyloid proteins may have a role in t he functioning of nerve cells formation and plasticity.

The excerpt below sums up the findings of the research:

“Examining a small cohort of 26 cognitively normal adults, aged 65 to 81, they found higher levels of amyloid ? the protein responsible for brain plaque found on Alzheimer?s disease ? in those people who suffered more disrupted sleep patterns. What?s more, the higher levels of disrupted sleep pair with poorer sleep led to worse results in simple memory tests…
…It seems the relationship between amyloid build up and poor sleep is two-way. ?The more beta-amyloid you have in certain parts of your brain, the less deep sleep you get and, consequently, the worse your memory,? Walker said in a statement. ?Additionally, the less deep sleep you have, the less effective you are at clearing out this bad protein. It?s a vicious cycle.?…?

If you are worried about your sleeping habits, talk to your general practitioner or even to us at Image Dental. We are always happy to help. And if we can?t? The least we can do is refer you to someone more competent like a sleep physician or naturopath!

https://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/prevention/a/28307600/how-sleep-can-prevent-alzheimers-disease/