Study: Poor sleep may be linked to Alzheimer’s

Poor sleep may be linked to Alzheimer’s disease in older adults, according to a brain imaging study.

The findings follow earlier research indicating that one of the functions of sleep is to purge the brain of toxic proteins. One such harmful protein is beta-amyloid (Abeta), which accumulates in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s.

The new study appears to reinforce the importance of sleep in staving off dementia. US scientists who looked at data on 70 adults with an average age of 76 found that those who slept less, and who experienced low quality sleep, had higher levels of beta-amyloid.