A new study just out from the University of California, Berkeley found Deep Sleep, also known as non-Rem slow wave sleep, may act as a buffer against memory loss in older adults facing an increase risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. A protein in the brain, beta-amyloid is linked to memory loss. This new research shows improved amounts of deep, slow-wave sleep may provide a protective factor against the decline in memory that occurs in Alzheimer’s disease.
62 older adults were recruited to participate in this study. Participants were healthy adults and had not been diagnosed with dementia. Participants slept in a lab and their sleep waves were monitored with an EEG (electroencephalograhy) machine. PET (positron emission tomography) scans were also used to measure the quantity of beta-amyloid deposits in the brains of each participant. Half the participants were found to have high amounts of amyloid deposits. After sleep each participants completed a memory task which involved matching faces to names.
The participants with higher levels of beta-amyloid deposits in their brains and who had higher levels of deep sleep performed better on the memory tests as those who had the same amount of beta-amyloid deposits but who had low levels of deep sleep. In participants without beta-amyloid deposits deep sleep did not improve memory since there was no additional demand the resilience factors needed in an otherwise intact cognitive function. Sleep proved to push cognition upward softening the effects of beta-amyloid on memory.
Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, destroys memory pathways and in advanced forms of the disease interferes with a person’s ability to perform daily tasks. Approximately 1 in 9 people over the age of 65 have this progressive disease. Researchers believe that a person’s deep sleep could act as a means to forecast a faster rate of future beta-amyloid buildup in the brain increasing a person’s risk of developing dementia.
Larger studies are needed.
Some Amino acids, herbal extracts and nutritionals are designed to help with falling asleep as well as staying asleep. Melatonin is the nutritional that supports staying asleep as well as readjusting/resetting the body’s circadian biorhythms. L-Theanine and GABA, similar in structure, work to influence the ionic drive (particularly chloride) in certain neurons which are involved in the slow down/speed up function. The GABA calms the brain and aids the body into entering Stage 1 sleep. The herb Griffonia simplicifolia found in 5-HTP is converted into serotonin and ultimately into melatonin in 3 steps. Other herbs work in a manner similar to Valium by slowing down the brain yielding a calming effect. Magnesium is included for its relaxing qualities.
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