Sleep and memory
February 16, 2012
DISRUPTED sleep may affect
memory later in life, according to
new US research.
“Disrupted sleep appears to be
associated with the build-up of
amyloid plaques, a hallmark
marker of Alzheimer’s disease, in
the brains of people without
memory problems,” said study
author Dr Yo-El Ju.
To come to this conclusion
researchers looked at the sleep
patterns of 100 people between
the ages of 45 and 80 who were
free of dementia.
Half of the group had a family
history of Alzheimer’s disease.
The average time participants
spent in bed during the study was
8hrs, but awakenings during the
night meant that the actual
average time they slept was 6.5hrs.
In addition, researchers found
that people who woke up more
than five times per hour were
more likely to have amyloid plaque
build-up compared to people who
didn’t wake up as much.
Those who spent less than 85%
of their time in bed actually
sleeping were more likely to have
the markers than those who spent
more than 85% of their time in bed
actually sleeping.
“We need longer-term studies,
following individuals’ sleep over
years, to determine whether
disrupted sleep leads to amyloid
plaques, or whether brain changes
in early Alzheimer’s disease lead to
changes in sleep,” Ju said, adding
that the study lays the groundwork
for further investigation as to
whether sleep manipulation can
prevent Alzheimer’s.
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