Try to sleep after reading this... you're more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease if your sleep is poor... the idea really helps you drift off, doesn't it? New research, while preliminary, has found that problems with sleep like waking up more than five times in an hour, may be a signal of preclinical Alzheimer's disease. Preclinical Alzheimer's is the term medical personnel use for those who display normal mental skills while also showing the brain changes that are linked to this dreadful disease.
The research on sleep and Alzheimer's involved 100 subjects, both men and women who were aged between 45 to 80 years. All were dementia free at the start of the study, though half had a family history of Alzheimer's disease.
For two weeks the subjects wore a sleep measuring device, while also keeping sleep diaries and filling out questionnaires. The subjects slept for about 6.5 hours, though they stayed in bed for another hour and a half, for a total of eight hours.
The research team analyzed subjects' spinal fluid, reviewed at brain scans for evidence of amyloid plaques - the deposits that are in the brains of those with Alzheimer's. Today experts think such deposits can be forming from 10 - 15 years prior to symptoms appearing. About a quarter of the subjects had evidence of preclinical Alzheimer's, and those who woke most often (over 5 times each hour) had a greater chance than non-waking subjects to show abnormal biomarkers.
However, it's important to keep in mind that studies like this one which are presented at conferences are considered preliminary. The findings have yet to undergo a peer review, where outside experts look at the data before it appears in a medial text.
The researchers also cannot put a number on the increase in risk for those who woke more often. Subjects who spent under 85% of the time spent in bed sleeping had a greater chance of showing signs of preclinical Alzheimer's. Waking five times each hour sounds like no sleep at all, and the researchers admit that the measuring device might slightly over estimate the number of times subjects woke. Still most of us do wake up, briefly, quite a bit during a normal night of sleep.
Are changes in the brain driving sleep disturbances, or is it the other way around? Trouble sleeping could well be a reflection of changes happening in the brain. We do recognize that having a good night's sleep is vital for the brain. More examination of the relationship between sleep and Alzheimer's is needed. Ju is enrolling and evaluating another 100 subjects for further study, and expects to have these results by the time of the meeting presentation.
Interestingly there are animal studies that find sleep changes do encourage the growth of amyloid. It wouldn't be surprising for this to be the case in humans as well.
The take home message? If you've got problems with sleep then getting a good night's sleep is key, and we should all try to make getting the right amount of restful, restorative sleep a priority. Just as we do with eating right and exercising, sleep is equally important.
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