If You Love Someone, Please Take Care of Them Series presents Poor Sleep Quality Linked to Alzheimer’s Risk
Sleeping difficulties are a common problem that many people have nowadays. Daily stress is one of the main causes contributing to sleep problems. Poor quality sleep not only leads to health issues such as fatigue and headaches but also promotes the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
A study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that shorter sleep duration and poorer sleep quality were associated with a greater buildup of beta amyloid (Αβ) proteins, which is a key molecule in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease.
In another study conducted by the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, researchers examined the association between self-reported sleep variables and β-Amyloid deposition. Study participants with an average age of 76 reported sleep that ranged from more than seven hours to no more than five hours. The study found that shorter sleep duration and lower sleep quality were both associated with greater Αβ buildup.
However, the researchers added that the findings cannot demonstrate a causal link between poor sleep and Alzheimer’s disease, and that further studies are needed to examine whether poor sleep contributes to, or accelerates, Alzheimer’s disease.
A study of mice conducted at the University of Rochester Medical Center discovered that sleep helps wash away toxic proteins such as the beta amyloid, preventing them from building up and from potentially destroying brain cells.
“It’s like a dishwasher,” says Dr. Maiken Nedergaard, a professor of neurosurgery at the University of Rochester.
The researchers believe that treatments for poor sleep or efforts to maintain healthy sleep patterns may help prevent, or slow, the progression of Alzheimer disease. Now you’ve learn another risk of poor quality sleep so make sure that you get enough sleep every day to help ward off Alzheimer’s disease.
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