This "Brain Enema" Flushes Away Harmful Alzheimer's-Linked Proteins
Lack of Sleep Promotes Alzheimer’s
by Preventing Critical Detoxification
Story at-a-glance
-
A number of studies have linked poor sleep or lack
of sleep to an increased risk of Alzheimer’s
disease; one reason for this is because your brain’s
waste removal system only operates during deep sleep
-
By pumping cerebral spinal fluid through your
brain’s tissues, the glymphatic system flushes the
waste from your brain back into your body’s
circulatory system, from where it can be eliminated
-
During sleep, the glymphatic system becomes 10 times
more active than during wakefulness. Simultaneously,
your brain cells shrink by about 60 percent,
allowing for greater efficiency of waste removal
By Dr. Mercola
Sleep disturbances are endemic in the US, where nearly 40 percent
of adults report unintentionally falling asleep during the day in
the past month, and five percent report nodding off while driving.1
Forty-five percent of teens also don't get enough sleep on school
nights and 25 percent report falling asleep in class at least once a
week.
Lack of sleep has ramifications that go far beyond not feeling
fully awake and refreshed during the day. There's a price to pay in
terms of health, both short- and long-term.
A number of studies have linked poor sleep or lack of sleep to an
increased risk of Alzheimer's for example, and one of the reasons
for this has to do with the fact that your brain's waste removal
system only operates during deep sleep.
Your Brain Needs Sleep for Waste Removal
There's no cure for Alzheimer's disease, which makes prevention
all the more important, and sleeping well appears to be an important
part of prevention. Studies2,3
published in 2012 and 2013 revealed that your brain actually has a
unique method of removing toxic waste.
This waste-removal system has been dubbed the glymphatic system,4,5,6,7,8
and operates in a way that is similar to your body's lymphatic
system, which is responsible for eliminating cellular waste
products.
However, the lymphatic system does not include your brain. The
reason for this is that your brain is a closed system, protected by
the blood-brain barrier, which controls what can go through and what
cannot.
The glymphatic system gets into your brain by "piggybacking" on
the blood vessels in your brain. (The "g" in glymphatic is a nod to
"glial cells"—the brain cells that manage this system.)
By pumping cerebral spinal fluid through your brain's tissues,
the glymphatic system flushes the waste from your brain back into
your body's circulatory system. From there, the waste eventually
reaches your liver, where it's ultimately eliminated.
The clincher is that this system ramps up its activity during
sleep, thereby allowing your brain to clear out toxins,
including harmful proteins called amyloid-beta, the buildup of which
has been linked to Alzheimer's.
During sleep, the glymphatic system becomes 10 times more active
than during wakefulness. Simultaneously, your brain cells shrink by
about 60 percent, allowing for greater efficiency of waste removal.
During the day, the constant brain activity causes your brain
cells to swell in size until they take up just over 85 percent of
your brain's volume,9
thereby disallowing effective waste removal during wakefulness.
More recently, researchers discovered10
that the blood-brain barrier naturally tends to become more
permeable with age, allowing more toxins to enter.
In conjunction with reduced efficiency of the glymphatic system,
damage in both your brain and blood-brain barrier can start to
accumulate at an increased pace. This deterioration is thought to
play a significant role in the development of Alzheimer's.
Sleep Is Not a Luxury, It's an Essential for Good Health
As noted in a recent issue of Time Magazine:11
"Sleep, the experts are recognizing, is the only time the
brain has to catch its breath. If it doesn't, it may drown in
its own biological debris... [Sleep researcher Dr. Sigrid]
Veasey is learning that brain cells that don't get their needed
break every night are like overworked employees on consecutive
double shifts–eventually, they collapse.
Working with mice, she found that neurons that fire
constantly to keep the brain alert spew out toxic free radicals
as a by-product of making energy. During sleep, they produce
antioxidants that mop up these potential poisons.
But even after short periods of sleep loss, 'the cells
are working hard but cannot make enough antioxidants, so they
progressively build up free radicals and some of the neurons die
off...'
The consequences of deprived sleep, says Dr. Mary
Carskadon, professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown
University, are scary, really scary."
Omega-3 and Vitamin D May Control Brain Serotonin, Research Suggests
Speaking of brain health, recent research12,13
suggests that animal-based
omega-3 and
vitamin D can improve
cognitive function and behavior associated with certain psychiatric
conditions—including ADHD, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia—by
regulating your brain's serotonin levels. As reported by ProHealth:14
"Many clinical disorders, such as autism spectrum
disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD),
bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and depression share as a
unifying attribute low brain serotonin.
'In this paper, we explain how serotonin is a critical
modulator of executive function, impulse control, sensory
gating, and pro-social behavior,' says Dr. Patrick. 'We link
serotonin production and function to vitamin D and omega-3 fatty
acids, suggesting one way these important micronutrients help
the brain function and affect the way we behave...'
Their paper illuminates the mechanistic links that
explain why low vitamin D... and marine omega-3 deficiencies
interact with genetic pathways, such as the serotonin pathway,
that are important for brain development, social cognition, and
decision-making, and how these gene-micronutrient interactions
may influence neuropsychiatric outcomes."
The omega-3 fatty acid EPA reduces inflammatory signaling
molecules in your brain that inhibit serotonin release from
presynaptic neurons, thereby boosting your serotonin levels. DHA
also has a beneficial influence on serotonin receptors, by
increasing their access to serotonin.
According to the researchers, optimizing your vitamin D along
with the animal-based omega-3 fats EPA and DHA can help optimize
your brain serotonin concentrations and function, and may help
prevent and/or ameliorate psychiatric symptoms without adverse side
effects. Serotonin is also an immediate precursor to
melatonin, which has many important health benefits, including a
reduced cancer risk.
Are You Getting Enough Sleep?
The latest
sleep guidelines, based on 300 studies looking at the health
effects of sleep, confirm that most adults need right around eight
hours of sleep for optimal health. Forty percent of American adults
get only six hours of sleep or less however, and 58 percent of
teens—who need anywhere from eight to 10 hours—average only seven
hours or less. This kind of sleep debt is a recipe for health
problems down the road, and an increased risk of dementia is just
one potential side effect.
Individual sleep requirements can vary, of course, based on age,
life circumstances, and health status. So how can you be sure you're
getting the right amount for you? The following seven signs indicate
you need to address your sleep schedule because you're not getting
enough sleep:15
You're moody |
Chronic insomnia is associated with a greater risk for
depression and anxiety,16
and even one night of insufficient sleep can have a dramatic
impact on your mood. According to Lauren Hale,17
editor-in-chief of the journal Sleep Health:"If you're
sleep deprived, you're more vulnerable to crankiness,
irritability, and challenges coping with stress." |
Your work/study performance and productivity is subpar |
Basic cognitive functions such as logic reasoning,
focus, and even word retrieval can suffer when you're tired.
According to Harvard Medical School,18
insomnia costs the American economy more than $63 billion
each year in lost productivity.
Sleep has also been shown to boost creative functioning
and promote problem solving, both of which are valuable
attributes in just about any profession. |
You're gaining weight and/or developing other signs of
insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes |
Research19,20
shows that
poor sleep and/or lack of sleep can have a significant
bearing on metabolic disorders such as weight gain, insulin
resistance, and
diabetes.
Sleep exerts a marked modulatory effect on glucose
metabolism, and lack of sleep will increase your risk of
insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Shift-work, for
example, has been shown to rapidly shift healthy people into
a pre-diabetic state.21
Lack of sleep also decreases levels of the fat regulating
hormone leptin while increasing the hunger hormone ghrelin.
The resulting increase in hunger and appetite can easily
lead to overeating and weight gain.22,23 |
Signs of sleep deprivation are showing on your face |
You can usually tell when someone hasn't slept well by
how they look. A recent Swedish study24
looked at facial cues showing sleep deprivation, finding
that people readily identified hanging eyelids, red swollen
eyes, dark under-eye circles, pale skin, more wrinkles, and
more droopy corners of the mouth as tell-tale signs of a
poor night's sleep. |
You're exhibiting poor judgment and/or lack of
self-control |
As noted in the featured article:25
"Accurately reading social situations and making good
decisions both heavily depend on the brain's capacity to
process emotions. But when people are sleep deprived, the
region of the brain involved with emotional processing, the
prefrontal cortex, 'basically goes to sleep...'
And there's evidence being sleepy makes people sneaky,
too: Sleep-deprived employees are more likely to cut corners
and take credit for others work, according to research...
Why? 'Presumably,' writes Jex and Britt, not getting enough
Zzs results in a reduced amount of self-control." |
Your libido is "missing in action" |
Intimacy usually falls by the wayside when you're
exhausted. One recent study26,27
found that each extra hour of sleep a woman got corresponded
to a 14 percent increase in the likelihood of sexual
activity the following day. Those who slept more on average
also reported greater vaginal lubrication during sex,
compared to those who averaged less sleep. |
You're drowsy during the day, and/or involuntarily fall
asleep |
Daytime sleepiness is a clear sign that you didn't get
enough sleep the night before. So, if you're constantly
yawning, and/or guzzle coffee to keep yourself going, you
need to head to bed earlier. |
Tips for Better Sleep
Small adjustments to your daily routine and sleeping area can go
a long way toward ensuring you uninterrupted, restful sleep—and
thereby better health. To get you started, check out the suggestions
listed in the table below. For even more helpful guidance on how to
improve your sleep, please review my "33
Secrets to a Good Night's Sleep." If you're even slightly sleep
deprived, I encourage you to implement some of these tips tonight,
as high-quality sleep is one of the most important factors in your
health and quality of life.
Optimize your light exposure |
Your pineal gland produces melatonin roughly in
approximation to the contrast of bright sun exposure in the
day and complete darkness at night. If you're in darkness
all day long, your body can't appreciate the difference and
will not optimize melatonin production.
Sleep researcher Dan Pardi recommends getting at least
30 to 60 minutes of outdoor light exposure during the
daytime in order to "anchor" your master clock rhythm, in
the morning if possible. More sunlight exposure is required
as you age.
Once the sun sets, avoid light as much as possible to assist
your body in secreting melatonin, which helps you feel
sleepy. It can be helpful to sleep in complete darkness, or
as close to it as possible. If you need a bit of light to
navigate down the hall in the wee hours of the night,
install a low-wattage yellow, orange, or red light bulb.
Light in these bandwidths does not shut down
melatonin production in the way that white and blue light
does. Salt lamps are lovely for this purpose. You can also
download a free application called F.lux that automatically
dims your computer device screens.28
|
Address mental states that prevent peaceful slumber |
A sleep disturbance is always caused by something, be it
physical, emotional, or both. Anxiety and anger are two
mental states that are incompatible with sleep. Feeling
overwhelmed with responsibilities is another common sleep
blocker.
To identify the cause of your wakefulness, analyze the
thoughts that circle in your mind during the time you lie
awake, and look for themes. Many who have learned the
Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) find it is incredibly
useful in helping them to sleep. One strategy is to compile
a list of your current concerns, and then "tap" on each
issue. To learn how to tap, please refer to our free
EFT guide. |
Keep the temperature in your bedroom below 70 degrees
Fahrenheit |
Many people keep their homes too warm (particularly
their bedrooms). Studies show that the optimal
room temperature for sleep is between 60 and 68 degrees
Fahrenheit. |
Take a hot bath 90 to 120 minutes before bedtime |
This raises your core body temperature, and when you get
out of the bath it abruptly drops, signaling your body that
you're ready for sleep. |
Avoid watching TV or using electronics in the evening,
at least an hour or so before going to bed |
Electronic devices emit blue light, which tricks your
brain into thinking it's still daytime. Normally, your brain
starts secreting melatonin between 9 pm and 10 pm, and these
devices may stifle that process. |
Be mindful of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) in your
bedroom |
EMFs can disrupt your pineal gland and its melatonin
production, and may have other detrimental biological
effects. A gauss meter is required if you want to measure
EMF levels in various areas of your home. Ideally, you
should turn off any wireless router while you are
sleeping—after all, you don't need the Internet when you
sleep. |
Develop a relaxing pre-sleep routine |
Going to bed and getting up at the same time each day
helps keep your sleep on track, but having a consistent
pre-sleep routine or "sleep ritual" is also important. For
instance, if you read before heading to bed, your body knows
that reading at night signals it's time for sleep. Sleep
specialist Stephanie Silberman, PhD suggests listening to
calming music, stretching, or doing relaxation exercises.29
Mindfulness therapies have also been found helpful for
insomnia.30 |
Avoid
alcohol, caffeine, and other drugs, including nicotine |
Two of the biggest sleep saboteurs are caffeine and
alcohol, both of which also increase anxiety. Caffeine's
effects can last four to seven hours. Tea and chocolate also
contain caffeine. Alcohol can help you fall asleep faster,
but it makes sleep more fragmented and less restorative.
Nicotine in all its forms (cigarettes, e-cigs, chewing
tobacco, pipe tobacco, and smoking cessation patches) is
also a stimulant, so lighting up too close to bedtime can
worsen insomnia. Many other drugs can also interfere with
sleep. |
Use a fitness tracker to help you get to bed on time,
and track which activities boost or hinder deep sleep |
To optimize sleep you need to make sure you're going to
bed early enough. If you have to get up at 6:30am, you're
just not going to get enough sleep if you go to bed after
midnight. Many
fitness trackers can now track both daytime body
movement and sleep, allowing you to get a better picture of
how much sleep you're actually getting. Newer fitness
trackers like Jawbone's UP3, which should be released later
this year, can even tell you which activities led to your
best sleep and what factors resulted in poor sleep. |
Copyright 1997- 2015 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/04/02/poor-sleep-promotes-alzheimers.aspx
http://everlast.mercola.com/r/?id=h35a82d34,8904f0b,8916864&et_cid=DM73349&et_rid=900214068
|