Lack of Sleep Is a High-Risk Factor for Dementia

There is no doubt that when we were young lack of sleep wasn’t considered a problem.  Sometimes we wore it as a badge of honor.  You could cram for exams and believe that was the best way to study!  Partying hard back then was as it should be.  The next day was painful, but it was worth it.

Then you were responsible for a newborn.  You were not in control of when you got to sleep. Mix that with the hormonal changes going on postpartum and you started experiencing the effects of sleep deprivation.  If you didn’t have any help in those early stages of motherhood/fatherhood, you might have experienced postpartum depression.  At this point in time, you might not have realized how serious your sleep deprivation was impacting your brain function.

We all know what it feels to not sleep:  everything requires extra effort; we lack energy and motivation and feel groggy, irritable, and snappish. Sleep-loss or chronic sleep disruption has many negative consequences, including adverse effects on metabolism and immune function.  The most obvious of these adverse effects are on the brain. Cognitive deficits of many kinds are apparent after just one night of total sleep deprivation or when sleep is cut short by several hours every night for a week or more.

Attention, working memory, and the ability to learn and remember decline. When we are sleep-deprived, it is more difficult to speak fluently, assess risks, and appreciate humor. However, these immediate cognitive impairments can be reversed.  There is evidence that cognitive deficits can be prevented or delayed by naps.

As the research dug into our brain function while we sleep, it uncovered a long list of specific brain functions that occur.  Our brain is almost as busy while we are sleeping as when we are awake.

So, why do we sleep?

·      Clear out toxins:  Dr. Maiken Nedergaard of the University of Rochester Medical Center along with her colleagues, discovered a system that drain waste products from the brain. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) a clear liquid surrounding the brain and spinal cord, moves through the brain along a series of channels that surround blood vessels.  This system is managed by the glial cells (a brain cell), so the researchers called it the glymphatic system.  The glymphatic systems clears out and recycles all the brain’s toxins. 

The scientists reports that the glymphatic system ca help remove a toxic protein called beta-amyloid from brain tissue. Beta-amyloid is renowned for accumulating in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

·      Repairs daily wear and tear. New research indicates that chronic sleep deprivation can lead to irreversible brain damage.  Short sleep may also be linked to shrinking brain volume.  Scientists have concluded that the deeper stages of sleep are crucial for repairing the body, including the brain.

·      Makes order out of chaos. As you go about your daily activities, your brain is exposed to thousands of stimuli — auditory, visual, and/or neurosensory.  And it can’t possibly process all that information as it comes in. A lot of tagging and archiving of memories goes on at night while you are sleeping.  People who think they have adapted well to sleeping just four or five hours a night are often wrong; memory tests show they are not functioning optimally.

·      Creates memory.  One of the chemicals involved in creating memories, acetylcholine, is also involved in sleep and dreaming.  What happens in people who start to develop Alzheimer’s is the brain cells that produce acetylcholine are destroyed, so people stop dreaming as much.

Risks Associated with Sleep Deprivation

·      Increased risk of car accidents

·      Increased accidents at work

·      Reduced ability to learn or remember

·      Reduced productivity at work

·      Reduced creativity at work or in other activities

·      Reduced athletic performance

·      Increased risk of Type 2 Diabetes, obesity, cancer, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, and cardiovascular disease

·      Increased risk of depression

·      Increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease

·      Decreased immune function

·      Slowed reaction time

·      Reduced regulation of emotions and emotional perception

·      Poor grades in school

·      Increased susceptibility to stomach ulcers

·      Exacerbates current chronic diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s Multiple Sclerosis, Lewy Body Dementia.

·      Cutting one hour of sleep a night increases the expression of genes associated with inflammation, immune excitability, diabetes, cancer risk, and stress

·      Contributes to premature aging by interfering with growth hormone production, normally released by your pituitary gland during sleep

Sleep deprivation, sleep disruption, and sleep apnea are devastating to our brain health and increase our risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.   If you can’t get a good night’s sleep, take a good nap.  Protect your brain!

#sleep #sleepdeprivation #sleepapnea #glymphaticsystem #memorycreation #cleartoxins

Retrieved from:

Patricia Faust (June 2024). The Boomer Brain, Chapter Eight/Brain Healthy Lifestyle; SLEEP.  Pages 113 – 124.