Garrison L. Hilliard
2015-12-24 07:23:36 UTC
Why Sleep Is Precious for Staying Sharp
You really are harming your brain when you don't get enough zzz's
by Gabrielle DeGroot Redford, AARP The Magazine, Dec. 2014/Jan.
2015|?Comments: 13
Brain Health Sleep Link Alzheimers Memory Benefits
Get your zzz's to keep your brain healthy.
l Night owls, take note. That sleep deficit you've been accumulating
has real and dangerous implications for your brain, and not just
because it makes you sleepy during the day. Sleeping less than seven
or eight hours a night has been linked to cognitive decline, memory
loss and possibly even Alzheimer's, new research shows.
P. Murali Doraiswamy, M.D., a brain researcher at Duke University in
Durham, N.C., explains what your brain does during sleep.
Clears out toxins
Most people think that when you sleep, your brain goes to sleep, too.
But it turns out that parts of your brain are several times more
active at night than during the daytime. One of them is a newly
discovered drainage system called the glymphatic system, which is kind
of like your city's sewage and recycling system; its job is to clear
out and recycle all your brain's toxins. One protein very actively
recycled during sleep is involved in developing amyloid plaque, the
hallmark of Alzheimer's. No one is saying that Alzheimer's is all
caused by sleep deprivation, but it may be a factor.
Repairs daily wear and tear
New research indicates chronic sleep deprivation can lead to
irreversible brain damage. A University of Pennsylvania animal study
found that extended wakefulness can injure neurons essential for
alertness and cognition and that the damage might be permanent.
Short sleep may also be linked to shrinking brain volume, though it's
not clear whether the lack of sleep causes the brain to shrink or
whether a smaller brain makes it harder to sleep. Other studies have
led scientists to conclude that chemicals secreted during the deeper
stages of sleep are crucial for repairing the body including the
brain.
Makes order from chaos
As you go about your daily activities, your brain is exposed to
thousands of stimuli auditory, visual, neurosensory. And it can't
possibly process all that information as it comes in. A lot of the
tagging and archiving of memories occurs at night while you're
sleeping. It's a bit like what goes on in a library. All the books
dropped off in the book repository during the day are dusted off and
cataloged at night. People who think they've adapted well to sleeping
just four or five hours a night are often wrong; memory tests show
they are not functioning optimally.
Creates memories
One of the chemicals involved in creating memories acetylcholine
is also involved in sleep and dreaming. What happens in people who
start to develop Alzheimer's is that the brain cells that produce
acetylcholine are destroyed, so people stop dreaming as much.
Interestingly, a side effect of the most commonly used drug to treat
Alzheimer's Aricept is its ability to induce vivid dreams.
For an active and healthy mind try Staying Sharp!
http://www.aarp.org/health/brain-health/info-2014/sleep-for-brain-health.html?cmp=EMC-DSO-NLC-RSS-BRN--CTRL-122215-P1-990818&ET_CID=990818&ET_RID=17169521&encparam=zrmjRqQtabkbGjnJCwTVtdjxBZ5wOjbIuoNDYeIpkvc=
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You really are harming your brain when you don't get enough zzz's
by Gabrielle DeGroot Redford, AARP The Magazine, Dec. 2014/Jan.
2015|?Comments: 13
Brain Health Sleep Link Alzheimers Memory Benefits
Get your zzz's to keep your brain healthy.
l Night owls, take note. That sleep deficit you've been accumulating
has real and dangerous implications for your brain, and not just
because it makes you sleepy during the day. Sleeping less than seven
or eight hours a night has been linked to cognitive decline, memory
loss and possibly even Alzheimer's, new research shows.
P. Murali Doraiswamy, M.D., a brain researcher at Duke University in
Durham, N.C., explains what your brain does during sleep.
Clears out toxins
Most people think that when you sleep, your brain goes to sleep, too.
But it turns out that parts of your brain are several times more
active at night than during the daytime. One of them is a newly
discovered drainage system called the glymphatic system, which is kind
of like your city's sewage and recycling system; its job is to clear
out and recycle all your brain's toxins. One protein very actively
recycled during sleep is involved in developing amyloid plaque, the
hallmark of Alzheimer's. No one is saying that Alzheimer's is all
caused by sleep deprivation, but it may be a factor.
Repairs daily wear and tear
New research indicates chronic sleep deprivation can lead to
irreversible brain damage. A University of Pennsylvania animal study
found that extended wakefulness can injure neurons essential for
alertness and cognition and that the damage might be permanent.
Short sleep may also be linked to shrinking brain volume, though it's
not clear whether the lack of sleep causes the brain to shrink or
whether a smaller brain makes it harder to sleep. Other studies have
led scientists to conclude that chemicals secreted during the deeper
stages of sleep are crucial for repairing the body including the
brain.
Makes order from chaos
As you go about your daily activities, your brain is exposed to
thousands of stimuli auditory, visual, neurosensory. And it can't
possibly process all that information as it comes in. A lot of the
tagging and archiving of memories occurs at night while you're
sleeping. It's a bit like what goes on in a library. All the books
dropped off in the book repository during the day are dusted off and
cataloged at night. People who think they've adapted well to sleeping
just four or five hours a night are often wrong; memory tests show
they are not functioning optimally.
Creates memories
One of the chemicals involved in creating memories acetylcholine
is also involved in sleep and dreaming. What happens in people who
start to develop Alzheimer's is that the brain cells that produce
acetylcholine are destroyed, so people stop dreaming as much.
Interestingly, a side effect of the most commonly used drug to treat
Alzheimer's Aricept is its ability to induce vivid dreams.
For an active and healthy mind try Staying Sharp!
http://www.aarp.org/health/brain-health/info-2014/sleep-for-brain-health.html?cmp=EMC-DSO-NLC-RSS-BRN--CTRL-122215-P1-990818&ET_CID=990818&ET_RID=17169521&encparam=zrmjRqQtabkbGjnJCwTVtdjxBZ5wOjbIuoNDYeIpkvc=
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