Deep sleep could forestall the declines in brain health that can eventually lead to Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia. In their study of 62 older, cognitively healthy adults, researchers from the University of California (UC) Berkeley, Stanford University, and UC Irvine in the US found that individuals with brain changes associated with Alzheimer’s performed better on memory function tests as they got more deep sleep. This was irrespective of education and physical activity, two factors along with social connection known to contribute to cognitive resilience in older age. “This is especially exciting because we can do something about it. There are ways we can improve sleep, even in older adults. But poor sleep is both a risk factor for and a symptom of Alzheimer’s disease, making it tricky to tease apart cause and effect. Likewise, clumpy amyloid-beta proteins might only be a sign of Alzheimer’s disease, not its root cause. Even so, levels of amyloid-beta proteins are commonly used as a marker of Alzheimer’s disease, as research suggests they – and another protein called tau – can start clogging up brain cells decades before symptoms of the disease arise. Past research from Walker’s group found that significant levels of amyloid-beta aggregating in the brains of older adults can disrupt deep sleep, also known as non-rapid eye movement slow wave sleep, and impair memory function. But some folk appear to stave off the decline that comes with Alzheimer’s disease, even when levels of amyloid-beta proteins are relatively high. To find out why, Walker and colleagues monitored participants’ brain waves as they slept, and then asked them to complete a memory test the next day. Other research shows users of sleeping pills appear to have lower levels of amyloid proteins in their cerebrospinal fluid, which washes the brain clean at night. But these medications come with side effects; they may also lull people into shallow bouts of sleep rather than deep sleep phases.
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