Sleep is an essential part of brain health; during sleep, the brain cleans and removes unwanted clutter. Sleep patterns also influence the pathology of the disease. With age, the sleep cycle can break down, resulting in older adults getting less sleep. Scientists are looking into studies of whether long term sleep loss in young and middle-agedadults increases risk of Alzheimer’s disease later in life.

The brain gets rid of excess amyloid proteins during slow-wave sleep, the deep sleep phase during which your memories are consolidated. Some studies exhibit that when sleep gets scattered during the slow-wave phase, amyloid proteins build up and form plaque on brain tissue. Scientists believe this is the first stage of the development ofAlzheimer’s, and this can happen years before symptoms appear.

One of our scientific advisory board members, and Alzheimer’s disease. Holtzman found that amyloid plaques showed up before and more regularly in the brains of mice with lackluster sleep than in mice with regular sleep patterns. The study also pointed to orexin, a neurotransmitter that regulates the sleep cycle, as likely being involved in the production of increased levels of amyloid. This research helped both to identify orexin as a potential drug target, and to demonstrate the critical importance of adequate sleep in lowering risk for Alzheimer’s disease.

During sleep, the natural cleaning system of the brain goes into action, removing debris and toxic particles. Poor sleep is now associated with a buildup of amyloid and extended poor sleep causes the buildup of tau, another hallmark of the disease. It turns out that, during wake cycles, amyloid accumulates in the brain. During sleep, cerebrospinal fluid rushes through the brain to clear out unwanted protein particles and debris. One study also pointed to orexin, a neurotransmitter that
regulates the sleep cycle, as likely being involved in the production of increased levels of amyloid. This research helped both to identify orexin as a potential drug target, and to demonstrate the critical importance of adequate sleep in lowering risk for Alzheimer’s disease.

References: 1. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/waking-up-to-alzheimers-can-getting-quality-sleep-help-prevent-the-disease-2017090812293 2. https://curealz.org/news-and-events/sleep-alzheimers-disease-2009/ 3. https://curealz.org/news-and-events/sleep-and-alzheimers-disease-2019/ 4. https://curealz.org/news-and-events/get-more-sleep/