A new study by Monash University researchers has found improving deep sleep may help prevent dementia.
The study, published in the journal JAMA Neurology, looked at more than 300 participants over the age of 60 and found even a small reduction in deep sleep was associated with an increased risk of dementia.
Deep sleep, also known as slow wave sleep, is the most restorative stage of sleep. It is during deep sleep that the brain consolidates memories and removes built-up toxins.
The study found participants who lost just 1% of their deep sleep each year had a 27% increased risk of developing dementia. This suggests even small changes in deep sleep can have a significant impact on brain health.
Study lead Associate Professor Matthew Pase from the Monash School of Psychological Sciences and the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health said that the study showed promise in identifying the role of deep sleep as a risk factor for dementia.
“[T]o date we have been unsure of the role of slow-wave sleep in the development of dementia. Our findings suggest that slow wave sleep loss may be a modifiable dementia risk factor,” Associate Professor Pase said.
“We examined whether genetic risk for Alzheimer’s Disease or brain volumes suggestive of early neurodegeneration were associated with a reduction in slow-wave sleep. We found that a genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, but not brain volume, was associated with accelerated declines in slow wave sleep.”
The researchers believe deep sleep may help to protect against dementia by clearing amyloid beta and tau proteins from the brain. These proteins are thought to play a key role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia.