Impaired sleep is associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer's

What effect does our sleep have on the risk of Alzheimer's??

There are several studies that have found a possible link between sleep quality and the development of dementia and Alzheimer's. Researchers have now found that impaired deep sleep appears to be associated with Alzheimer's cognitive decline.

Scientists at the Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, have found in their current study that disorders of a specific sleep phase are associated with early stages of cognitive decline. The physicians published the results of their study in the English language journal "Science Translational Medicine".

Regular and adequate sleep is especially important for the body. Sleep disorders are even associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer's. (Image: F8studio / fotolia.com)

Increased levels of tau protein due to lack of sleep?

Sleep is important to the human body, this is well known. How does it affect diseases like Alzheimer's when our sleep is disturbed? Last year, sleep deprivation has already been shown to directly increase amyloid beta accumulation in the brain, which can also be seen in people with Alzheimer's disease. The current study illustrates the relationship between sleep and Alzheimer's. The hypothesis behind the research is that decreased deep sleep may correlate with an increase in tau protein in the brain. Tau proteins are associated with cognitive decline in Alzheimer's besides amyloid-beta proteins.

What did the experts investigate??

In their study, the researchers examined the sleep patterns of 119 subjects over 60 years of age, most of whom were cognitively healthy and showed no signs of dementia or Alzheimer's disease. Subjects' sleep patterns were monitored for a week using sensors and portable EEG monitors. Tau and amyloid levels were also monitored in all subjects by PET scans or spinal fluid sampling.

Deep sleep has a massive impact on brain health

The results of the study showed that people with less deep sleep had higher levels of tau protein in the brain. This stage of a person's sleep cycle is closely linked to memory consolidation. Many experts also believe that deep sleep is critical to maintaining overall brain health.

Deep sleep and its effects on tau proteins

Apparently the total amount of sleep is not related to the tau protein, but only our deep sleep, which also says a lot about our sleep quality, explains study author Brendan Lucey of the Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis. However, some questions remain unanswered. It is unclear whether poor sleep is ultimately the cause or consequence of diseases such as Alzheimer's. It is also unclear whether sleep changes precede or follow pathological changes in the brain, the experts explain. The explanations for age-related neurodegenerative diseases are undoubtedly more complicated than the result of years of poor sleep, the physicians add. However, researchers suggest that sleep disorders can be an effective early warning tool to help physicians identify patients in the earliest preclinical cognitive stages.

Examination of sleep as a screening for Alzheimer's?

An inverse relationship between decreased sleep and elevated tau protein levels could be found in people who were either cognitively normal or very mildly compromised. This could mean that decreased deep sleep is a marker for the transition between healthy and cognitive, Lacey explains. Investigating people's sleep could be a non-invasive method of screening for Alzheimer's, especially if people are having memory and thinking problems. (As)