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Poor Sleep Linked with Future Amyloid-β Build Up

the-scientist.com

11–20 of 33 posts

Re: Poor Sleep Linked with Future Amyloid-β Build Up

#11

Based on this, if you are at risk for Alzheimers (your 23andme report shows this), then one of the most important things you can do today is to religiously track your sleep and make sure you get enough deep sleep daily. In my anecdotal experience, if you don't get enough deep sleep for a sustained period of time, you start showing minor cognitive defects - e.g mixing up words, not being able to write long, irritabili…

"...Based on this, if you are at risk for Alzheimers (your 23andme report shows this), then one of the most important things you can do today is to religiously track your sleep and make sure you get enough deep sleep daily."

Getting enough deep sleep is probably good general advice anyway, but it's as-yet unclear if Alzheimer's or amyloid-β plaque buildup is caused by poor sleep; or if a third condition causes both poor sleep and amyloid-β buildup, in which case addressing the underlying cause is what will help, not religiously tracking sleep. Not enough information to say, yet.

But, yes, everyone get a good night's sleep!

Re: Poor Sleep Linked with Future Amyloid-β Build Up

#12
post #9

I'll just note that the link between amyloid and alzheimers isn't concrete and is actually an incredibly controversial area of research[0]. The most recent attempt at treating alzheimers via amyloid is not going so well[1]. So, the causality implied by this article (poor sleep -> amyloid buildup -> alzheimers) isn't necessarily on the strongest theoretical footing. [0] https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-05719…

As an old guy with insomnia who freaks out seeing these headlines on the hacker news, I’d like to thank you sincerely. This shit is scary at my age.

Re: Poor Sleep Linked with Future Amyloid-β Build Up

#13
post #10

People will be tempted to infer causation here, but it's important to note that no evidence of causation is presented. It is most likely that some third condition causes both poor sleep and amyloid-b accumulation (since correlation usually doesn't indicate causation).

"It is most likely that ..." I agree with your main point and was going to write something like this. But "most likely" is likely unjustified. It could be a 3rd factor that causes both, but its likelihood is unknown.

https://www.gwern.net/Causality

Correlation usually does not indicate causation. I.e. more than 50% of the time, correlative relationships in studies do not indicate causal ones. Taking that as a prior, and lacking any evidence to the contrary, it is indeed correct to say "it is most likely that ...".

Re: Poor Sleep Linked with Future Amyloid-β Build Up

#14
I hesitate to support HN's obsession with random Alzheimer's theories, but there's been a lot of research lately on the glymphatic system, vessels that clean waste protein out of the brain during sleep. This study is in line with that research.

The wikipedia page gives a good background on the glymphatic system: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glymphatic_system

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/370/6512/50.abstract https://science.sciencemag.org/content/342/6156/373

Re: Poor Sleep Linked with Future Amyloid-β Build Up

#15
Here is my first thought when reading this kind of studies about sustained poor sleep:

Did anyone do a study on parents? Are all (where all is not 100% but around me pretty close to that) parents going to suffer from Alzheimer.

I am saying this because with few notable exceptions (like N=2) all my friends, including myself and my wife, slept poorly at least during the first year of their child and sometimes up until second year. I think this counts as sustained poor sleep.

So either I am living in a bubble and I should add this to the list of stressful things I feel (I read) I am not doing right as a parent, or nature decided at one point to select children of parents predisposed to alzheimer.

Re: Poor Sleep Linked with Future Amyloid-β Build Up

#16
post #6

Great, another thing insomniacs can lie awake worried about!

You joke, but my mum's mind has died from Alzheimer's and I'm literally having anxiety attacks induced from that leaving me to extremely poor sleep patterns. Her father had Alzheimer's (undiagnosed AFAIK), and my mum had poor sleep patterns for sure (though not as bad as mine are, I think). If there's truth in this then somewhat ironically, yes, there's a perpetuation there. Sorry, to bring the town down.

No joke, dude. I believe I'm going to think about this when I fail to fall asleep too.

What solves my sleep problems easily is a some weed but I don't always have where to get it since it's not fully legal at my location.

Re: Poor Sleep Linked with Future Amyloid-β Build Up

#17
post #12
post #9

I'll just note that the link between amyloid and alzheimers isn't concrete and is actually an incredibly controversial area of research[0]. The most recent attempt at treating alzheimers via amyloid is not going so well[1]. So, the causality implied by this article (poor sleep -> amyloid buildup -> alzheimers) isn't necessarily on the strongest theoretical footing. [0] https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-05719…

As an old guy with insomnia who freaks out seeing these headlines on the hacker news, I’d like to thank you sincerely. This shit is scary at my age.

Cold showers, warm milk and zero screen time right before bed. Thought of just mentioning it, dunno if it might help you in particular.

Re: Poor Sleep Linked with Future Amyloid-β Build Up

#18
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As an old guy with insomnia who freaks out seeing these headlines on the hacker news, I’d like to thank you sincerely. This shit is scary at my age.

Cold showers, warm milk and zero screen time right before bed. Thought of just mentioning it, dunno if it might help you in particular.

Is there a study showing that cold shower before bed helps sleep? Thanks

Re: Poor Sleep Linked with Future Amyloid-β Build Up

#19

Based on this, if you are at risk for Alzheimers (your 23andme report shows this), then one of the most important things you can do today is to religiously track your sleep and make sure you get enough deep sleep daily. In my anecdotal experience, if you don't get enough deep sleep for a sustained period of time, you start showing minor cognitive defects - e.g mixing up words, not being able to write long, irritabili…

It’s not clear that tracking sleep leads to improved sleep https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/13/health/sleep-tracker-inso...

Re: Poor Sleep Linked with Future Amyloid-β Build Up

#20
post #12
post #9

I'll just note that the link between amyloid and alzheimers isn't concrete and is actually an incredibly controversial area of research[0]. The most recent attempt at treating alzheimers via amyloid is not going so well[1]. So, the causality implied by this article (poor sleep -> amyloid buildup -> alzheimers) isn't necessarily on the strongest theoretical footing. [0] https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-05719…

As an old guy with insomnia who freaks out seeing these headlines on the hacker news, I’d like to thank you sincerely. This shit is scary at my age.

Do ketogenic/low inflammatory diet + Ayahuasca ceremonies to open up heart/mind.
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