Your Brain and Sleep
Did you know that adults who sleep fewer than 6 hours a night are at higher risk for dementia and cognitive decline?
Here's why:
Our brains accumulate various kinds of metabolic "gunk" throughout the day. The worst is beta-amyloid proteins. These are metabolic waste products that build up as plaque around neurons and interfere with how they transmit information to each other. It's thought that a greater beta-amyloid "burden" in the brain is a precursor to Alzheimer's disease.
The good news is that deep and REM sleep flushes out the waste particles. We get most of our deep sleep in the first half of the night, so even if your sleep is cut short, the brain will still clear some of the waste.
When you are sleep-deprived, your first full night of sleep will include more deep and REM sleep.
This explains why getting too little sleep may be linked with Alzheimer's.
Things to consider:
Aging changes your body clock. As we age, we typically go to bed and wake up earlier, and spend more time awake during the night, resulting in less sleep overall
Physical changes can disrupt sleep. For example, prostate issues will have men wake during the night to pee
A suboptimal diet may cause poor sleep. Too many calories, fats, and sweets and too few fruits, vegetables, and whole grains can lead to weight gain and obesity, which can cause sleep apnea. In turn, poor quality sleep can lead to hormonal changes linked to appetite and satiety, cause you to eat more with less inhibition