Brain Fitness for Seniors

For quite some time now, researchers have known that sleep is important to the brain.  It’s pretty obvious even to regular people, like us – without enough sleep, we quickly start mentally stumbling around, losing focus and dulling our cognitive functions.

Researchers have also known that Alzheimer’s patients often have difficulty sleeping – but they’ve always  assumed that the poor sleep was caused by the disease. But a new study suggests that poor sleep habits may actually contribute to the process that leads to developing Alzheimer’s in the first place.

Here’s what happens:

As we age, a protein known as amyloid-beta builds up in the brain, sometimes forming itself into little clumps and tangles.  Although we don’t exactly know how, these tangles (or plaques)  seem to damage neurons, eventually causing them to die off.  When the damage becomes widespread, the symptoms of Alzheimer’s appear.

Where does sleep come into this?

When researchers at Washington University in St. Louis measured the amounts of amyloid- beta in the brains of mice, they found something interesting; the levels of the protein found in the wee-mousey brains didn’t seem to change, but the levels found in the fluids of the brain fluctuated significantly – and it was in direct relationship to how long the mice had been awake or asleep.

The levels gradually rose while the mice were awake, and dropped when the mice slept, suggesting that the protein accumulates during waking hours, but is somehow flushed during sleep.   Tests performed on healthy young people showed a similar relationship between wake/sleep cycles an the levels of amyloid-beta in their spinal fluid, so it seems likely that the same process is involved in humans, as in mice.

So it’s quite possible that instead of sleep problems being simply a symptom of Alzheimer’s, it may be a contributing cause.   And it may also help explain part of the accelerating spiral of symptoms – as the disease progresses, it becomes harder to sleep, which in turn allows levels of amyloid-beta to rise, eventually forming tangles and causing more damage to the brain.

This is all very preliminary, but still promising.  If getting enough sleep could prevent the levels of damaging proteins from developing in the first place, then perhaps the amyloid tangles and the associated damage can be prevented – and the impact of Alzheimer’s could be greatly reduced.

So get your Zzzz’s!

Sleep not only helps keep your cognitive functions strong and healthy in the short term,  may turn out to be a powerful part of Alzheimer’s prevention strategy, as well!

Don’t miss out on  Dakim’s “Give Thanks for Loved Ones” Contest, running now through November 5th.  You could win a $2500 brain fitness system for a senior friend or family member!