One bad night’s sleep can fuel brain protein linked to Alzheimer’s

Just a single night of disrupted sleep is enough to cause an increase in a brain protein called amyloid beta that can lead to Alzheimer’s disease in healthy, middle-aged adults , according to new research. 

Furthermore, a week of poor sleep can lead to an increase in another brain protein called tau that has been linked to brain damage in Alzheimer’s, as well as other neurological diseases.

The research conducted by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Radboud University Medical Centre in the Netherlands and Stanford University studied 17 healthy adults aged from 35 to 65 with no sleep problems or cognitive impairments. 

Participants wore a wrist activity monitor, which measured how much time they spent sleeping each night.

The study’s findings may help explain why poor sleep has been associated with the development of dementias, such as Alzheimer’s.

Professor Gretchen P Jones, the study’s senior author, said: “We showed that poor sleep is associated with higher levels of two Alzheimer’s-associated proteins.

“We think that perhaps chronic poor sleep during middle age may increase the risk of Alzheimer’s later in life.”

Alzheimer’s disease is characterised by gradual memory loss and cognitive decline caused by the death of brain tissue. To date, no therapies have been proven to prevent, slow or reverse the disease’s effects.

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