A sound sleep may be a solid defense against memory loss and Alzheimer's disease

 

Alzheimer's disease presently ranks as the sixth leading cause of death in the US, as the number of new cases is projected to triple by the year 2050 and affect as many as sixteen million people. The result of a new study presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 64th Annual Meeting has found that the level and duration of quality sleep may later affect memory function and the risk of Alzheimer's disease in later life. Researchers determined that poor quality sleep is associated with the build-up of neural tangles between synapses that is associated with the loss of ability to form new memories and progression of Alzheimer's dementia. Making time for seven to nine hours of uninterrupted sleep each night may be a crucial factor to Alzheimer's risk reduction as we age. I have a bodymedia armband that tells me the quality of sleep and how many hours and times I wake up...I can really tell the difference the next day on how well I sleep the night before!