Can Sleep Prevent Alzheimers?
There has been much press lately about how brains sweep themselves clean of toxins during sleep. Researchers describe sleep as the “dishwasher” for the brain. And that when we sleep, the cells clear out harmful toxins that diminish the brain's ability to function properly.
It seems that during sleep, the flow of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain increases dramatically, washing away harmful waste proteins that build up between brain cells during waking hours. Researchers found that one of the waste products removed is beta-amyloid, the plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease. So this makes me think that sleep and a healthy lifestyle are very important to preventing age related illnesses like Alzheimers. Here at Cool-jams we have made it our mission to encourage healthy sleep habits. Sleep is not only important for daily functioning but also for your long term health. We believe that there are some who legitimately have a sleep disorder that require medical attention. However, what our research has found is that a good majority of people do not have a sleep disorder, but need to implement some healthy sleep habits, reduce stress in their lives and balance their hormones. If sleep eludes you, you need to do something about it. And for most people, the solution is not a sleeping pill.
Read some of our other sleep articles to learn more about how to get to sleep and stay asleep. You'll be on the right path, by eating a gluten-free low-carbohydrate diet as prescribed in the book Grain Brain, getting consistent exercise, managing stress, avoiding chemicals in cosmetics, food, cleaning products, etc. and being diligent about your sleep habits. "Sleep can dictate how much we eat, how fast our metabolism runs, how fat or thin we get, whether we can fight off infections, how creative or insightful we can be, how well we can cope with stress, how quickly we can process information and learn new things, and how well we can organize and store memories. Adequate sleep, which for the vast majority of use means at least seven solid hours, also influences our genes. Anything that negatively affects these important functions in the body impacts the brain.” David Perlmutter, MD board-certified neurologist and author of Grain Brain