March 17, 2018

Poor Sleep Linked To Alzheimer's Risk

World Sleep Day was celebrated on March 16th . A restful night sleep spanning 7-8 hours leaves us feeling refreshed and  healthy. It enhances your beauty, helps you maintain healthy body weight, keeps your mind calm and peaceful, decreases your risk of cardiovascular diseases and so on and so forth.  You just can't get enough of enumerating the health benefits of adequate sleep. It's that important.

And as we all know, consequences of sleep deprivation can be very grave. One such effect of poor sleep is the heightened risk of Alzheimer's disease. Mostly referred to as the disease of old age, Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and worsens over time. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events (short-term memory loss). As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems with language, disorientation (including easily getting lost), mood swings, loss of motivation, not managing self care, and behavioural issues.  As a person's condition declines, they often withdraw from family and society. Gradually, bodily functions are lost, ultimately leading to death. [Source]

old man dozing during daytime

Excerpts of the study conducted on the how poor sleep could possibly cause Alzheimer's.

Older adults who are sleepy during the day might have harmful plaque building in their brain that is a sign of impending Alzheimer's disease, researchers report.

A hallmark of Alzheimer's is the accumulation of a protein in the brain called beta-amyloid. It's believed that one benefit of sleep is to clear beta-amyloid, and poor sleep might allow it to build up, the authors of the new study pointed out.

The co-author of an accompanying journal editorial  Bryce Mandersaid consistent and untreated sleep disturbance appears to aid Alzheimer's progression and it can happen early, before any symptoms are seen.

"These findings, however, further support the idea that sleep is critical for mental health, and that chronically disturbed sleep may facilitate the development of Alzheimer's disease or accelerate its progression," adds Mander.

This is another reason you should talk to your doctor if you have sleep problems, because many are treatable, Mander said.


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1 comment:

  1. Brinda9:23 PM

    bad sleep increases levels of some proteins that are associated with Alzheimer's disease.



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