Alzheimer’s Disease and Sleep

Normal brain versus brain with Alzheimer's. Courtesy of the Alzheimer's Association

Normal brain vs. brain with Alzheimer’s. Courtesy of the Alzheimer’s Association

A few weeks ago, my Gran was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and I wanted to learn more about Alzheimer’s. I had heard about it’s connection to sleep and decided to investigate. First, let’s cover the basics of the disease. Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia with no cure. On the brain level, Alzheimer’s causes the brain to shrink in size with decay, but it also builds up plaque and tangles, which makes it different from other forms of dementia. Two proteins, it states, have been linked to Alzheimer’s: beta-amyloid and tau. To learn more about the basics of the disease, I suggest looking at the Alzheimer’s Association website, where I gathered this information. Now onto sleep.

People with Alzheimer’s have difficulty with regular sleep schedules and often take naps during the day, says the Alzheimer’s Association. But are the sleep problems a factor in developing Alzheimer’s or are they a result the disease? Do better sleep habits prevent Alzheimer’s? Does sleep help people with Alzheimer’s?

The November 2013 National Geographic outlines different studies on the subject. Some suggest that sleep enhances memory. Certainly most college professors know that getting good amounts of regular sleep helps students learn and retain information better—because then we’re not tired. To suggest that in the long term, proper sleeping habits help your brain’s health makes sense, but I think the studies are early and inconclusive. NG talks about a Johns Hopkins study that says there’s an association between poor sleep and the build up of the plaque found in Alzheimer’s. A more recent March 2014 study at Temple sheds more light. There, a study done on mice showed that mice exposed to more light and less sleep had more tau tangles in the brain and struggled more with memory exercises than mice exposed to less light that slept more.

Chronic sleep problems could be a cause of Alzheimer’s and it seems to certainly exacerbate those who have it. So should you adjust your college cramming sleep schedule? Should you try develop healthy sleep habits as an adult? Couldn’t hurt. I hope to keep writing about Alzheimer’s for a little while to explore the questions I have.

 

3 thoughts on “Alzheimer’s Disease and Sleep

  1. Abigail Kennedy Post author

    Alyssa and Alexandra,
    Thank you both for your comments! I’m glad you liked my post. I will definitely keep writing about Alzheimer’s for a little while more, although you might have noticed that since most research is still either in early results or development phases, there aren’t too many conclusions to draw. But I did notice some other good posts in the class about sleep. They dealt more with how the college cramming sleep schedule impacts a person, but I think there’s a connection between that subject and this one. If scientists are pretty sure that bad sleep schedules (even short term ones) can affect your short term memory and attention span (important things in college), then the claim that chronically bad sleep patterns might mean long term memory problems sounds pretty valid. Here’s Amanda’s blog on Sleep Schedules of College Students .

  2. Alyssa Marie Gregory

    Loved reading this! We can so relate because as I said in the other post my grandmother has Alzheimers as well. I hope you keep writing about this topic because I will gladly keep reading. Your writing keeps me engaged. If you get time with your grandmother you should try looking at pictures with her to help trigger memory. Before I went off to school I used to look at old photo albums with my grandma and even my senior year book. We probably looked through them about 10 times lol. To my surprise she would remember somethings after looking at the same pictures over and over again. It’s not much memory but it brings a smile to my face to hear her say “Yes I remember this picture, thats your senior picture.” (even if she forgets 5 minutes later). Hope you and your family are doing well , here are a few tips on how to deal your family can cop with this very sad disease :
    http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/caregivers/in-depth/alzheimers/art-20047365

  3. Aleksandra Eva Kolliopoulos

    I am very sorry to hear that your Gran was diagnosed with this disease, my first dog was also diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, so this post really caught my eye! I hope you do post more about this topic, since i have a personal interest and connection to it, and I would like to learn more about it. Here’s a website that meybe could be of interest to you about Alzheimer’s disease. http://download.springer.com/static/pdf/576/art%253A10.2165%252F00023210-200115100-00004.pdf?auth66=1410292922_c14d4a4ffe1be551262c736d8cbdcb4d&ext=.pdf

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