Do you have bad sleeping habits? Working late nights, partying with friends or just lying awake in bed staring at the ceiling ? Then you may need to reconsider them and have a proper sleep as suggested by latest research that has found bad sleeping habits to become the cause of memory loss at a later stage in life.
A study conducted by Yo-El Ju, a MD at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and a fellow member of the American Academy of Neurology, has revealed a relation between disturbed sleep and development of early markers of Alzheimer’s disease. People who have trouble sleeping and wake up more often show signs of amyloid plaque build-up which is a significant mark of the said disease, even though these people show no signs of memory loss at the current stage of their lives.
Tests and questionnaires based on a group of around 100 people between the ages of 40 and 80 depicted that a person with an average sleep of 6.5 hours during the night due to abrupt awakenings was prone to be effected by this disease. Furthermore, people who woke up more than five times per hour of sleep had an increased probability of amyloid plaque build up.
Thus, efficient sleep habits were proved to have less chances of memory loss than those who could only sleep 85% of the time they spent in bed.
Researchers went on to say that although a direct link between early stage symptoms of Alzheimers and insufficient sleep has been established, there are no explanations as to why this happens or what part of the process causes this build up and how it can be prevented. However, they are enthusiastic to have laid a ground work for further research where manipulations in sleep habits can be tested as a strategy to slow down or cure the notorious neural disease altogether.
This research would be presented at the 64th Annual meeting of American Academy of Neurology in new Orleans being held from April 21st to April 28 and has already received a green light from Ellison foundation and National Institutes of Health.
