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How we sleep today may forecast when Alzheimer's disease begins:
UC Berkeley neuroscientists Matthew Walker and Joseph Winer have found a way to estimate, with some degree of accuracy, a time frame for when Alzheimer's is most likely to strike in a person's lifetime.
"We have found that the sleep you're having right now is almost like a crystal ball telling you when and how fast Alzheimer's pathology will develop in your brain," said Walker, a UC Berkeley professor of psychology and neuroscience and senior author of the paper published today, Sept. 3, in the journal Current Biology.
"The silver lining here is that there's something we can do about it," he added. "The brain washes itself during deep sleep, and so there may be the chance to turn back the clock by getting more sleep earlier in life."
Walker and fellow researchers matched the overnight sleep quality of 32 healthy older adults against the buildup in their brains of the toxic plaque known as beta-amyloid, a key player in the onset and progression of Alzheimer's, which destroys memory pathways and other brain functions and afflicts more than 40 million people worldwide.
Their findings show that the study participants who started out experiencing more fragmented sleep and less non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) slow-wave sleep were most likely to show an increase in beta-amyloid over the course of the study.
Although all participants remained healthy throughout the study period, the trajectory of their beta-amyloid growth correlated with baseline sleep quality. The researchers were able to forecast the increase in beta-amyloid plaques, which are thought to mark the beginning of Alzheimer's.
[...] As for next steps, Walker and Winer are looking at how they can take the study participants who are at high risk of contracting Alzheimer's and implement methods that might boost the quality of their sleep.
"Our hope is that if we intervene, then in three or four years the buildup is no longer where we thought it would be because we improved their sleep," Winer said.
"Indeed, if we can bend the arrow of Alzheimer's risk downward by improving sleep, it would be a significant and hopeful advance," Walker concluded.
Journal Reference:
Joseph R. Winer, Bryce A. Mander, Samika Kumar, Mark Reed, Suzanne L. Baker, William J. Jagust, Matthew P. Walker. Sleep Disturbance Forecasts β-Amyloid Accumulation across Subsequent Years. Current Biology, 2020; DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.08.017
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Wednesday September 30 2020, @12:21AM
So what's "some" degree of accuracy? I mean, I can forecast the exact moment of your death with some degree of accuracy, provided "some" is +/-100 years.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 30 2020, @12:44AM
> we can bend the arrow of Alzheimer's risk downward by improving sleep
This must be why they call him "sleepy Joe"?
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 30 2020, @12:49AM (1 child)
I fall down drunk every night after the meth wears off by 4am then get up to drive the school bus at 6. Don't sleep much I guess. Will I get the Altzeimers?
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday September 30 2020, @12:55AM
The good news: you can stop it now, you already have it. You just keep forgetting about it. (large grin)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0
(Score: 2) by Barenflimski on Wednesday September 30 2020, @12:55AM (4 children)
I haven't slept well in years now. I rarely sleep deeply. I certainly don't dream much anymore. Alzheimer's has been in my family, though I only know of a couple of generations. Does that mean I am on my way? Have I said this before? Wait, no, is this déjà vu? Wait. Where am I? Is this Slashdot? Who am I?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 30 2020, @01:00AM (3 children)
Can't be sure but I swear I've heard that joke before. It's a joke attempt, right? A joke.
(Score: 2) by Barenflimski on Wednesday September 30 2020, @02:36AM (1 child)
Listen. Sometimes I just want cheap humor and enjoy cheap thrills. A joke though? I mean I can't remember.... What was the question?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 30 2020, @03:09AM
Which Spice Girl was the best!?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 30 2020, @07:02AM
Yes.
No.
Maybe.
I don't know.
Can you repeat the question?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by legont on Wednesday September 30 2020, @01:53AM (11 children)
Could somebody explain what exactly was wrong with sleeping patterns of the subjects in this research?
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 4, Informative) by RS3 on Wednesday September 30 2020, @02:18AM (10 children)
No, this is the age of sweeping generalizations and hand-waving. Useful information would short-circuit all the speculation, theories, babbling, arguing, trolling, dumb jokes, blogging, etc., and this here sarcasm. :)
Sarcasm aside, I've always had trouble with sleep. I think I'm more naturally a 25 or 26 hour person, but I've never really experimented with it. For most of my life doctors and others insisted I was full of crap, that everyone has a 24 hour circadian rhythm. Sorry, but I'm pretty intelligent, and I don't believe in astrology nor the earth's rotation causing my biorhythms. Daylight changes every day, and quite a bit, like now. And sleep researchers finally figured out that in fact many people do NOT have a 24 hour cycle. If I get a good night's sleep, I'm not sleepy 16 hours later- more like 18-20.
To give you a concrete answer: TFA doesn't specify, and it varies per person, but 6-8 hours, hopefully averaging 7+, with COPD and other problems identified and mitigated.
If you really want to know, you need a sleep study, which usually involves EEG done over the course of several days. I've never done one, but I've been given prescriptions. For me it would be a waste of everyone's time- I pretty much can't sleep in an unfamiliar place, esp. with head electrodes, a cap, and cable to get wound up in.
But still, it's the best we have, so if you're worried, ask your Dr. for a script for a sleep study.
https://www.sleepreviewmag.com/sleep-diagnostics/consumer-sleep-tracking/wearable-sleep-trackers/at-home-eeg-wearable-accurate-as-sleep-center-experts/ [sleepreviewmag.com]
https://sleeptrackers.io/eeg/ [sleeptrackers.io]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 30 2020, @03:12AM (1 child)
I'm not casting doubt on your experience, but I've noticed that I can be a little tired at 9pm but it is too early for me to sleep. Then I'm up to 1-2am before getting tired again. We do have windows for sleep, and it can be easy to skip our first opportunity.
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Wednesday September 30 2020, @04:56AM
Absolutely for many, but not everyone has the same experience, physiology, etc. A big frustration for me is the "one size fits all" (lack of) mentality. Sweeping generalizations, etc.
My experience is: if I fall asleep early or nap, lets say after 6 PM, I'm doomed- may not sleep until 3 or 4 AM. If I fall asleep at 9 or 10 PM, I'll wake up at some point, maybe 12 - 3 AM and then I'm wide awake until 7 or whenever I'm supposed to get up, then I'm basically narcoleptic. It's a very real problem for me.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by hendrikboom on Wednesday September 30 2020, @03:14AM (3 children)
Both could be right.
An oscillator that is kept on frequency by a regular synchronizing pulse should have a freqency slightly lower than the frequency of the synchronizing pulse; otherwise it will start early every cycle.
The circadian rhythm is synchronized by the 24-hour day-night cycle. Perfectly reasonable for the circadian period to be a little greater than 24 hours.
When I was on my own schedule, working in a place with almost no connection to daylight, I ended up on a cycle of about 26 hours. Back in the so-called real world where there was daylight, reverted to about 24 hours.
-- hendrik
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 30 2020, @07:33AM (2 children)
In chronobiology sections, one of the first things they teach you is that the "natural" sleep cycle in humans is approximately 24 hours and 9-10 minutes with a surprisingly tight range on average, even when there is no external clock to go by. However, that can vary widely when you add in the delaying effect on sleep caused by artificial lighting. When you include self-controlled artificial lighting and remove external clocks, a cycle of 25 hours is almost expected and 26 is not uncommon. Additionally, there are plenty of other disorders that can cause you to free-run or otherwise not keep a 24 hour cycle. Though based on my experience and my glance at the literature, even in N24SWD patients, 26 hours is rare without some other comorbidity or habituation but over 25 wouldn't be a complete surprise by the time it starts to become a real issue.
(Score: 2) by PiMuNu on Wednesday September 30 2020, @04:07PM (1 child)
Friends who used to camp underground regularly reported a 36 hour cycle. The lights were completely artificial (no natural light cycle at all) in this case.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 01 2020, @02:48AM
That could go a long way. Plus the excitement and unusual atmosphere of being underground hanging out with your buddies and then the additional rest needed for the physical exertion and unusual sleeping environment.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 02 2020, @03:46AM (1 child)
Could it be Delayed sleep phase disorder (DSPD)? [wikipedia.org] Seems like I've had it my whole life.
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Saturday October 03 2020, @03:53AM
Wow, thank you so much for this. I hadn't heard of that. I'll look into it some more. Thank you thank you again.
(Score: 2) by legont on Friday October 02 2020, @11:27PM (1 child)
I am similar to you. However, my mother always believed that sleep issues are the result of poor self discipline. Hence she drilled it into me. She showed to me how it is done and was always proud how she can manage her sleep well - in old age that is - while her friends can not.
Fast forwarding to now, I do have sleep patter issues but I can fix them any time I want. Yes, I've done it many times and, for example, currently keep my sleep on schedule 11-7 with no problems at all. My mom tought me how to, which I am very glad she did.
So, back to the article, I wonder if it is natural or trained difference...
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Saturday October 03 2020, @04:15AM
Very interesting, thank you. Well, for sure I've also sometimes lacked self-discipline. I have many ways of looking at it, including that some people are just more "right-brained"- at least outwardly. I'm also pretty rational / logical / analytical (at least I think I am, compared to many around me) but I just don't have control of things like sleep. But maybe some people can overcome things through self-discipline. This all dovetails with a long discussion about things like peak performance and achievement, versus steadier, maybe boring, predictable lifestyle that exhibits far less peak achievement.
Yesterday I was groggy all day- drank some coffee- had no affect. Fell asleep in a chair (nice, big office chair that tips back and has nice headrest) around 7 pm, for maybe an hour, woke up full of energy- got a ton of work done- was wide awake until after 2 AM. Couldn't have slept if I had wanted to. And I've been generally on an early-ish schedule. I often wonder if the caffeine somehow doesn't get into me until many hours later. I have to be very careful of chocolate- not sure if it's caffeine but it'll really keep me awake. The sleep problem is overall unaffected by caffeine, btw. I mean, it'll keep me awake all night, but I've gone years with _no_ caffeine and still have the problems.
Melatonin sometimes hits me hard, sometimes makes me groggy all next day, sometimes does nothing at all. I rarely take it- don't want to mess up the natural melatonin system.
I need some kind of life where I really don't need to be awake at any special time. I've often said to bosses who insist I show up "on time" (when I'm doing work that isn't critical to times I show up)- "you can have me early, or you can have me sharp- pick one". Of course they indignantly say "you must do both". I've had the problem all my life and it was much worse when I was young.
It's really good and I'm glad your mom was able to influence you in such good ways. My parents were pretty hard on me. Not really abusive, but not encouraging- mostly negativity / scolding, which people like me just don't do well with. You've given me much food for thought. Maybe your mom can write a book for me to read!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 30 2020, @02:03AM
But they missed one:
Don’t stress out and worry about things, as discussed here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6Sxv-sUYtM [youtube.com]
(Score: 4, Insightful) by bzipitidoo on Wednesday September 30 2020, @02:06AM (4 children)
So, lack of sleep is why Trump still has so much support? His supporters just can't remember all the bad things he's done?
If lead poisoning, which is well known to make people more violent and less intelligent, could contribute to the collapse of the Roman Empire, why couldn't sleep deprivation, bisphenol A and sugary beverages and the obesity epidemic they cause, and, yes, lead, push America over the edge? Sleep deprived, obese people can't be expected to be at the top of their game mentally.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 30 2020, @01:36PM (1 child)
Biden is the doddering old man who says things like he served 180 years in the Senate.
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Saturday October 03 2020, @04:19AM
Maybe he did? Maybe Senate years are like dog years.
(Score: 2) by ChrisMaple on Thursday October 01 2020, @02:13AM (1 child)
Some people don't need much sleep. Trump reportedly only needs about 4 hours a night, and maintains a high level of energy throughout the day. This allows him to accomplish much more than most people.
I'm sure he's accomplished much more good in his life than you will even try to.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 01 2020, @02:50AM
Yeah, I'll never get anywhere close to losing the hundreds of millions of dollars my father gave me.
(Score: 4, Funny) by maxwell demon on Wednesday September 30 2020, @05:52AM (1 child)
So we need more brainwashing to fight Alzheimer's!
BTW, again so many articles without dept. lines on the front page. Sad.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 30 2020, @10:29AM
It's fake, so sad.
(Score: 2) by ilsa on Wednesday September 30 2020, @11:26PM
Well, looks like I'm fucked.
I look forward to meeting everyone here again (to my perception) for the first time. Assuming I even remember the URL.