{"id":205,"date":"2025-04-01T02:44:07","date_gmt":"2025-04-01T02:44:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/205\/"},"modified":"2025-04-01T02:44:07","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T02:44:07","slug":"less-deep-sleep-linked-to-brain-shrinkage-alzheimers-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/205\/","title":{"rendered":"Less Deep Sleep Linked to Brain Shrinkage, Alzheimer\u2019s Risk"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Summary: <\/strong>New research shows that reduced time in slow wave and REM sleep is associated with smaller brain volumes in regions vulnerable to Alzheimer\u2019s disease. Using sleep studies and brain imaging data from 270 participants, researchers found that poor sleep architecture was linked to brain atrophy over time\u2014particularly in the inferior parietal region, an area affected early in Alzheimer\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>These associations held even after accounting for factors like age, heart health, and lifestyle habits. The findings suggest that disrupted sleep may be a modifiable risk factor for Alzheimer\u2019s and highlight the importance of restorative sleep for long-term brain health.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Key Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Sleep-Related Brain Shrinkage:<\/strong> Less REM and slow wave sleep linked to smaller brain volumes.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Alzheimer\u2019s Risk Areas Affected:<\/strong> Inferior parietal region showed the strongest impact.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Modifiable Risk Factor:<\/strong> Sleep quality could influence Alzheimer\u2019s disease progression.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong>AASM<\/p>\n<p><strong>New\u00a0research\u00a0reveals that lower proportions of specific sleep stages are associated with reduced brain volume in regions vulnerable to the development of Alzheimer\u2019s disease over time.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Results show that individuals with lower proportions of time spent in slow wave sleep and rapid eye movement sleep had smaller volumes in critical brain regions, particularly the inferior parietal region, which is known to undergo early structural changes in Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n<p>  <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/sleep-alzheimers-brain-neuroscience.jpg\" alt=\"This shows a woman sleeping.\"  \/> According to the Alzheimer\u2019s Association, Alzheimer\u2019s disease is a degenerative brain disease and the most common cause of dementia. Credit: Neuroscience News<\/p>\n<p>The results were adjusted for potential confounders including demographic characteristics, smoking history, alcohol use, hypertension, and coronary heart disease.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur findings provide preliminary evidence that reduced neuroactivity during sleep may contribute to brain atrophy, thereby potentially increasing the risk of Alzheimer\u2019s disease,\u201d said lead author Gawon Cho, who has a doctorate in public health and is a postdoctoral associate at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese results are particularly significant because they help characterize how sleep deficiency, a prevalent disturbance among middle-aged and older adults, may relate to Alzheimer\u2019s disease pathogenesis and cognitive impairment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The study was published March 31 as an accepted paper in the\u00a0Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, the official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.<\/p>\n<p>According to the Alzheimer\u2019s Association, Alzheimer\u2019s disease is a degenerative brain disease and the most common cause of dementia. An estimated\u00a06.7 million Americans\u00a0aged 65 and older are living with Alzheimer\u2019s disease, and this number is projected to double by 2060, pending medical developments to prevent, slow or cure the disease.<\/p>\n<p>The study involved an analysis of data from 270 participants who had a median age of 61 years. Fifty-three percent were female, and all participants were white. Individuals were excluded from the analysis if they previously had a stroke or probable dementia or other significant brain pathology.<\/p>\n<p>The research utilized polysomnography to assess baseline sleep architecture. Advanced brain imaging techniques were used to measure brain volumes 13 to 17 years later.<\/p>\n<p>According to the authors, the study demonstrates an important association between sleep and long-term brain health, and it highlights potential opportunities to reduce the risk of Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSleep architecture may be a modifiable risk factor for Alzheimer\u2019s disease and related dementias, posing the opportunity to explore interventions to reduce risk or delay Alzheimer\u2019s onset,\u201d said Cho.<\/p>\n<p>The researchers emphasized that further investigation is needed to fully understand the causal relationships between sleep architecture and Alzheimer\u2019s disease progression.<\/p>\n<p>About this sleep and Alzheimer\u2019s disease research news<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#ffffe8\"><strong>Author: <\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/neurosciencenews.com\/cdn-cgi\/l\/email-protection#422f27262b23022323312f6c2d3025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Thomas Heffron<\/a><br \/><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/aasm.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">AASM<\/a><br \/><strong>Contact: <\/strong>Thomas Heffron \u2013 AASM<br \/><strong>Image: <\/strong>The image is credited to Neuroscience News<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#ffffe8\"><strong>Original Research: <\/strong>Open access.<br \/>\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.5664\/jcsm.11630\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Lower slow wave sleep and rapid eye movement sleep are associated with brain atrophy of AD-vulnerable regions<\/a>\u201d by Gawon Cho et al. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine<\/p>\n<p><strong>Abstract<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Lower slow wave sleep and rapid eye movement sleep are associated with brain atrophy of AD-vulnerable regions<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Study Objectives:<\/p>\n<p>Sleep deficiency is associated with Alzheimer\u2019s disease (AD) pathogenesis. We examined the association of sleep architecture with anatomical features observed in AD: (1) atrophy of hippocampus, entorhinal, inferior parietal, parahippocampal, precuneus, and cuneus regions (\u201cAD-vulnerable regions\u201d) and (2) cerebral microbleeds.<\/p>\n<p>Methods:<\/p>\n<p>In 270 participants of the Atherosclerosis Risk in the Communities Study, we examined the association of baseline sleep architecture with anatomical features identified on brain MRI 13\u223c17 years later.<\/p>\n<p>Sleep architecture was quantified as the proportion of slow wave sleep (SWS), proportion of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, and arousals index using polysomnography.<\/p>\n<p>Outcomes included (1) volumetric measurements of each AD-vulnerable region and (2) the presence of any cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) and that of lobar CMBs, which are more specifically associated with AD. We analyzed the association of each sleep predictor with each MRI outcome, adjusting for covariates.<\/p>\n<p>Results:<\/p>\n<p>Median age was 61, 53% female, 100% were White, and 47% had 16+ years of education. Mmedian times in SWS and REM were 17.4% and 21.5%, respectively. Having less SWS was associated with smaller volumes of the inferior parietal region (\u03b2=-44.18 mm3\u00a0per -1 percentage point [PP] of SWS, [95%CI=-76.62, -11.74]) and cuneus (\u03b2=-11.98 [=-20.92, -3.04] mm3\u00a0per -1 PP of SWS).<\/p>\n<p>Having less REM was associated with smaller volumes of the inferior parietal region (\u03b2=-75.54 [-129.36, -21.72] mm3\u00a0per 1 PP of REM) and precuneus (\u03b2=-31.92 [-63.78,-0.06] mm3\u00a0per 1 PP of REM).<\/p>\n<p>After FDR adjustments, lower SWS and REM were associated with significantly smaller inferior parietal region volumes. Arousal index was not associated with the volumes of AD-vulnerable regions. None of the sleep architecture variables were associated with CMBs or lobar CMBs.<\/p>\n<p>Conclusions:<\/p>\n<p>Sleep deficiency is associated with the atrophy of the inferior parietal region, which is observed in early AD. Sleep architecture may be a modifiable risk factor for AD.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Summary: New research shows that reduced time in slow wave and REM sleep is associated with smaller brain&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":206,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[230,231,215,232,105,219,233,220,234,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-205","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-aasm","9":"tag-alzheimers-disease","10":"tag-brain-research","11":"tag-deep-sleep","12":"tag-health","13":"tag-neurobiology","14":"tag-neurology","15":"tag-neuroscience","16":"tag-sleep","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=205"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}