Alzheimer's vs. Sleep

Just how important is sleep to YOU? Across the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 35% of all adults sleep less than seven hours per day. This insufficient sleep results in an overall increase of over 33% in major chronic diseases:[i] obesity, heart disease, inflammation, a weakened immune system and others.

This is a classic chicken/egg problem! Does lack of sleep cause Alzheimer’s or does Alzheimer’s cause lack of sleep? YES! In the earliest stage of preclinical Alzheimer’s, amyloid-β begins to aggregate into amyloid plaques. People who have biomarker evidence of amyloid plaque have worse quality of sleep than those who have no evidence of amyloid plaque. Regardless of which came first, people with poor sleep have earlier onset of diagnosable Alzheimer’s.[ii]

Sleep is critical for prevention and reversal of Alzheimer’s.[iii] During REM, or dream sleep, our brains process and store the day’s memories into long-term memory. DEEP sleep clears amyloid-β.[iv] Without at least seven hours of sleep, the brain doesn’t have time to do either. Even one night of inadequate sleep causes an increase of amyloid-β.[v]

Beware of using inadequate sleep as a “badge of courage!” You might wave this badge to others to show how diligent you are. However this is a very short-term bragging point with potentially fatal long-term consequences!

Early in my career, I was assigned a project to integrate communications between several types of computers. I had my own laboratory with all the computers I needed. For about 60 days, I worked 18 to 20 hours per day, and drove the 20 miles between the lab and hotel. I slept for 4 to 6 hours, and then drove back to the lab. Many times it was a major effort to drive to or from work on the crowded Interstate. What did I gain? There were no kudos from my employer, no pat on the back for accomplishing a task previously not accomplished. I did learn that I could successfully navigate the Interstate without an accident and probably accumulated some amyloid plaque.

If you want to increase your risk of Alzheimer’s, go ahead and continue to get away with less than seven hours of sleep. When you are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, you won’t know whether it was because of your sleep habits or some of the other three dozen known causes.

Can’t sleep? In a nutshell, keep a nightly sleep ritual. Go to bed and wake up at the same times daily, set a sleep goal of seven to eight hours, exercise early in the day, don’t nap in the late afternoon or evening, don’t eat or drink anything within three hours of bedtime, refrain from stimulating activities or conversations for several hours before bedtime, use your bedroom for sleep and not other projects, no TV in the bedroom or set a timer to automatically turn it off, sleep alone if you and your partner have different sleep habits, sleep with the bedroom at the optimal sleep temperature of 65 degrees. A consistent sleep ritual is a clear signal to the brain that it is time to sleep; random activities before bed aren’t a distinct signal.[vi] If sleep is still a problem, see your physician.

If you want help with this, it’s my passion and specialty. Send me a PM and we will chat.

[i] https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/data_statistics.html

[ii] Sleep and Alzheimer disease pathology—a?bidirectional?relationship https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3979317/

[iii] https://www.today.com/health/how-prevent-alzheimer-s-reduce-risk-foods-lifestyle-t189658

[iv] The End of Alzheimer’s Program, Dale E Bredesen, MD, Penguin Random House, 2020, p 213 f

[v] Sleep and Alzheimer disease pathology—a?bidirectional?relationship https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3979317/

[vi] The End of Alzheimer’s Program, Dale E Bredesen, MD, Penguin Random House, 2020, p 215 ff