This Habit Helps Keep Alzheimer’s Symptoms Under Control

27th February 2025

2 minutes read

This Habit Helps Keep Alzheimer’s Symptoms Under Control

Deep sleep may be the key to preventing the slow decline in brain health that can eventually lead to Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia.

Researchers have found that individuals with brain changes associated with Alzheimer’s performed better on memory function tests when they experienced deeper sleep.

This was true regardless of education level and physical activity, according to Science Alert. These two factors, along with social engagement, are known to contribute to cognitive resilience in old age.

However, those who had similar Alzheimer-related brain changes but lacked sufficient deep sleep performed worse on the same tests. By comparison, sleep did not make a significant difference for individuals with low levels of amyloid deposits.

Overall, the findings suggest that getting plenty of deep sleep may help slow the memory decline that begins when dementia worsens.

Matthew Walker, a neuroscientist at the University of California, Berkeley, explained:
“Think of deep sleep as a life raft that keeps memory afloat, rather than memory being dragged down by the weight of Alzheimer’s disease.”

He added: “This is particularly exciting because we can do something about it. There are ways to improve sleep, even in older adults.”

The study aligns with previous research that has linked the accumulation of beta-amyloid proteins in the brains of individuals suffering from sleep disorders.

However, sleep deprivation is both a risk factor for and a symptom of Alzheimer’s, making it difficult to distinguish cause from effect. Similarly, beta-amyloid clumps may simply be a marker of the disease rather than its root cause.

Earlier research from Walker’s team found that high levels of beta-amyloid buildup in older adults’ brains can disrupt deep sleep—also known as non-rapid eye movement (NREM) slow-wave sleep—and impair memory function.

Yet, some individuals seem to avoid the cognitive decline that typically accompanies Alzheimer’s, even when their beta-amyloid levels are relatively high. To understand why, Walker and his colleagues monitored participants’ brain waves during sleep, then had them complete a memory test the next day.

Among those whose brain scans revealed similarly high levels of beta-amyloid deposits, getting a good night’s sleep appeared to make a crucial difference in cognitive function.

This effect was only observed when researchers specifically analyzed slow-wave sleep (NREM sleep), not other sleep wave frequencies or sleep cycle stages.