EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4 PM ET, February 14, 2012
Trouble Sleeping? It May Affect Your Memory Later On
NEW ORLEANS -
The amount and quality of sleep you get at night may affect your memory later in life, according to research that was released today and will be presented at the 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans April 21 to April 28, 2012. 鈥淒isrupted sleep appears to be associated with the build-up of amyloid plaques, a hallmark marker of Alzheimer鈥檚 disease, in the brains of people without memory problems,鈥 said study author Yo-El Ju, MD, with Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and a member of the 好色先生. 鈥淔urther research is needed to determine why this is happening and whether sleep changes may predict cognitive decline.鈥 Researchers tested the sleep patterns of 100 people between the ages of 45 and 80 who were free of dementia. Half of the group had a family history of Alzheimer鈥檚 disease. A device was placed on the participants for two weeks to measure sleep. Sleep diaries and questionnaires were also analyzed by researchers. After the study, it was discovered that 25 percent of the participants had evidence of amyloid plaques, which can appear years before the symptoms of Alzheimer鈥檚 disease begin. The average time a person spent in bed during the study was about eight hours, but the average sleep time was 6.5 hours due to short awakenings in the night. The study found that people who woke up more than five times per hour were more likely to have amyloid plaque build-up compared to people who didn鈥檛 wake up as much. The study also found those people who slept 鈥渓ess efficiently鈥 were more likely to have the markers of early stage Alzheimer鈥檚 disease than those who slept more efficiently. In other words, those who spent less than 85 percent of their time in bed actually sleeping were more likely to have the markers than those who spent more than 85 percent of their time in bed actually sleeping. 鈥淭he association between disrupted sleep and amyloid plaques is intriguing, but the information from this study can鈥檛 determine a cause-effect relationship or the direction of this relationship. We need longer-term studies, following individuals鈥 sleep over years, to determine whether disrupted sleep leads to amyloid plaques, or whether brain changes in early Alzheimer鈥檚 disease lead to changes in sleep,鈥 Ju said. 鈥淥ur study lays the groundwork for investigating whether manipulating sleep is a possible strategy in the prevention or slowing of Alzheimer disease.鈥 Learn more about sleep disorders and Alzheimer鈥檚 disease at . The study was supported by the Ellison Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.
