Are Sleep and Alzheimer’s Related?

New research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, published in the journal Neurology, has found a link that suggests sleeping problems may increase your risk of Alzheimer’s Disease or other cognitive disorders. As Alzheimer’s receives increasing focus from the medical community, data is starting to accumulate that helps doctors and scientists understand it better. The hope is, with enough understanding, better treatments or even a cure can be found. But there’s a long way yet to go.

One already known fact about Alzheimer’s is amyloid plaques on the brain are a biological marker of the disease. Sleep can help clear this plaque from the brain, which can help hold the cognitive disease at bay. When good restful sleep is not available to the human body, a whole host of physical as well as mental issues can begin to arise. Now, in addition to higher blood pressure or stress that can lead to cardiac problems, medicine can point to sleep disruptions as a possible indicator that could lead to Alzheimer’s.

Participants in the study were indexed by their quality and quantity of sleep, and those with poor levels were tested for amyloid plaque. The results showed the presence of the plaque, which is driving the current findings that getting enough sleep may be a simple and effective way to reduce cognitive risk.

Key Points:

  • 1There is a link between sleep disorders and Alzheimer’s disease.
  • 2People who have sleep disorders show more signs of Alzheimer’s markers in their blood.
  • 3Improving sleep could be a good early intervention tactic for people who are at risk of developing Alzheimer’s.


Researchers identified a connection between biological markers for Alzheimer’s and sleep disorders.
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Written by HealthStatus
Medical Writer & Editor

HealthStatus has been operating since 1998 providing the best interactive health tools on the Internet, millions of visitors have used our health risk assessment, body fat and calories burned calculators. The HealthStatus editorial team has continued that commitment to excellence by providing our visitors with easy to understand high quality health content for many years.

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