Early Alzheimer's symptom may be found in your sleep, scientists warn
Early Alzheimer's symptom may be found in your sleep, scientists warn
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Scientists have issued a stark warning about the way we sleep, claiming that one lesser-known dreaming pattern could be an early indicator of Alzheimer's. The study, conducted at Beijing's China-Japan Friendship Hospital, analysed 128 people as they snoozed within the confines of a neurology clinic.
Around half of the participants had Alzheimer's and a third suffered from 'mild cognitive impairment', while the rest exhibited 'normal' levels of brain cognition. The team were keen to better understand the role of cognitive function in overnight activity, analysing brainwaves, eye movement and heart rate across individuals.
Interestingly, they found that people with Alzheimer's were more likely to experience a delayed period of 'REM sleep' - the stage in which we typically dream. Others who entered REM more than 98 minutes after dozing off showed elevated levels of toxic proteins too.
This specifically refers to 16% more 'amyloid' and 29% more 'tau', which are both related to a worsened risk of Alzheimer's disease. Associate professor Yue Leng of the University of California San Francisco, a senior author of the paper, explained: "The delay in REM sleep disrupts the brain’s ability to consolidate memories by interfering with the process that contributes to learning and memory.
