Go to Bed on Time to Fight Alzheimer’s

Sleep deprivation can lead to a rise in brain proteins that are linked with Alzheimer’s, suggest studies.

Getting enough sleep is important for good physical and mental health.

(Photo: iStockphoto)

(September is World Alzheimer’s Month, a global campaign to raise awareness about the degenerative disease. This story is being published in that context.)

The purpose of sleep remained a mystery until recent research revealed its critical role in memory consolidation. While this field was awash with data on the relationship between impaired memory and sleep patterns, researchers were stunned at the repeated failures of clinical trials for therapy of Alzheimer’s disease.

Researchers have recently shown that just one night of distressed sleep causes an escalation in brain proteins linked with Alzheimer’s.

The findings could answer the long-standing question of how disrupted sleep could be linked to Alzheimer's, and help protect those who suffer from chronic sleep deprivation.

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive, devastating, neurodegenerative disorder.

Alzheimer’s may begin with loss of language skills, emotional distress, increase in prickliness and angry outbursts. Because of its deteriorating nature, the disease leads to dementia.

It’s believed that sleep is just as important as exercise and diet when it comes to living a healthy life.

It’s believed that sleep is just as important as exercise and diet when it comes to living a healthy life. Lack of sleep has been linked to a lot of health issues including:

• Depression
• Stress
• Cognitive dysfunction
• Weight gain
• Type II Diabetes

Before the introduction of the light bulb, we went to sleep when it got dark. Heading to bed around 7:00 or 8:00 pm meant that we had a good 12 hours of restful time. Now our modern lives simply don’t let us get the rest we need. Smartphones and laptops chirp and glow at us all night long.

If we could truly unplug, we might find the peace of mind we need to get that kind of rest.

A growing body of research in both humans and mice has shown that troubled sleep leads to increase in levels of soluble beta amyloid, the protein that folds and forms the sticky plates that kill brain cells and swamp down information processing.

Deposition of amyloid in brain tissue is the first known pre clinical stage of Alzheimer's and happens well before any noticeable symptoms of dementia begin.

It is now clear that waste products of brain metabolism generated when you are awake, is collected and removed by the process of sleeping.

Further experiments have shown that sleep deprivation and poor sleep pattern impairs this waste removal.

It’s now clear that lack of sleep is linked to Alzheimer’s disease. In an era of increasingly irregular lifestyles, this should be a wake up call.

(The author is a consultant neurologist at the Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre in Mumbai.)

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