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Sleepless night may cause the brain to fill with protein chunks that have been linked to the development of Alzheimer’s disease, sleep deprivation for one night increases the quality of beta amyloid in the brain, a substance that clumps together between neurons to form plaques that hamper the brain ‘s ability to function.
Previous mouse and human studies have found potential links between too little sleep and an accumulation of beta amyloid in the brain. Researchers recruited 20 healthy participants with no history of brain disorders, and they spend two nights in the lab-one in which they were allowed to get a good night’s rest, and another in which they didn’t sleep.
The morning after both nights, the participants underwent brain scans to assess their levels of beta amyloid, researchers found that sleep deprivation was associated with a significant increase in beta amyloid in the brain, when compared with a good night’s sleep. Beta amyloid increases were observed in regions of the brain important to memory and thought-hippocampus and the thalamus.
Experts suspect that every time a neuron fires, it contributes to the production of beta amyloid in the brain, when people don’t sleep, their neurons continue to fire, potentially leading to a buildup of beta amyloid. Sleep aids the removal of waste products from the brain, which include beta amyloid. During sleep, neurons shrink in size, creating space between the cells that allows waste products to be more readily cleared from the brain.
haleplushearty.org