New Study Finds Deep Sleep May Mitigate Effects Of Alzheimer's Disease

As we get older, we tend to get less sleep, but according to new research from the University of California, Berkeley, published in the journal BMC Medicine, prioritizing getting more deep sleep may have important protective effects for brain health. Here's what they found.

For this study, researchers wanted to dig into the connection between sleep, memory, and beta-amyloid deposits—one of the primary drivers of Alzheimer's disease. To do so, they studied a small sample size of participants who did not have Alzheimer's, half of whom had high amounts of amyloid deposits.

The participants' brain waves were monitored while they slept in a lab using an electroencephalography (EEG) machine. Upon waking, they completed tasks that tested their memory.

Sure enough, among participants with high amounts of amyloid deposits, those who had more deep sleep performed better on the memory tasks than those who didn't sleep as well.

As such, the researchers believe these findings point to deep sleep as a protective factor against memory decline in those with amyloid deposits—even in those who have not been diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

As senior author of the study Matthew Walker, Ph.D., explained in a news release, "Think of deep sleep almost like a life raft that keeps memory afloat rather than memory getting dragged down by the weight of Alzheimer's disease pathology." He adds that it now seems that deep NREM sleep "may be a new, missing piece in the explanatory puzzle of cognitive reserve."

The findings of this study are exciting for researchers and everyday people alike because prioritizing sleep is something we can all do to sustain our brain health as we get older.

As researcher Zsófia Zavecz, Ph.D., explains, "With a certain level of brain pathology, you're not destined for cognitive symptoms or memory issues. People should be aware that despite having a certain level of pathology, there are certain lifestyle factors that will help moderate and decrease the effects—one of those factors is sleep and, specifically, deep sleep."

From going to bed and waking up at the same time every day to exercising and limiting caffeine before bed, there are plenty of ways to get more deep sleep every night. It's also worthwhile to take a quality sleep-supporting supplement with ingredients that are research-backed to help you sleep deeper, like magnesium and pharmaGABA. (Here are nine of our favorites, all vetted by a nutrition scientist.)

For more tips and information, be sure to check out our guide to deep sleep.

Sleep and brain health go hand in hand, so consider this one more reason to prioritize getting deep sleep every night. While some contributing factors to cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease are hard to control, the good news is, sleep is one thing we can all put more effort into.