Image of man in bed with head on pillow, looking at alarm clock
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The amount of time people spend in certain stages of sleep seems to affect brain health in ways that can affect the risk for Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study published Monday in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.
Scientists linked lower proportions of specific sleep stages (less deep sleep or dream sleep, or slow wave sleep and rapid eye movement sleep) with reduced brain volume in areas of the brain that are vulnerable to the development of Alzheimer’s disease over time. This was especially true for the inferior parietal region, an area of the brain that is prone to early structural changes in Alzheimer’s disease.
In other words, good sleep — or spending enough time in certain sleep stages — is critical for brain health. Modifying sleep could lower the risk for the disease, the researchers said.
A team examined data on 270 participants who had a median age of 61 years. None of the participants had previous strokes or were thought to have dementia or other significant brain-related issues. The team measured brain volumes with brain imaging scans, then measured them again anywhere from 13 to 17 years later.
“Our findings provide preliminary evidence that reduced neuroactivity during sleep may contribute to brain atrophy, thereby potentially increasing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease,” Gawon Cho, an author and postdoctoral associate at Yale School of Medicine, said in a statement. “These results are particularly significant because they help characterize how sleep deficiency, a prevalent disturbance among middle-aged and older adults, may relate to Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis and cognitive impairment.”
Sleep architecture may be a modifiable risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, and it may motivate researchers to explore interventions to reduce the risk for Alzheimer’s disease or delay its start, Cho added.
More research must be performed to fully understand how sleep can affect Alzheimer’s disease risk and progression, the team noted.