How sleep deprivation can harm the brain

Not only does a lack of sleep make you feel awful, research has shown it impairs the brain. What's more, sleep loss over long periods can even increase risk for Alzheimer's and other neurological diseases. Researchers want to understand how sleep deprivation causes this harm. In a new study in ACS' Journal of Proteome Research, a team working with mice has identified a protective protein whose level declines with sleep deprivation, leading to neuronal death.

Studies indicate that lack of sleep leads to neurological damage in the hippocampus, a part of the brain involved in learning and memory. To better understand the changes responsible for this effect, scientists have begun examining shifts in the abundance of proteins and RNA, which contains genetically encoded instructions derived from DNA. In this way, previous studies have identified some factors linking sleep loss to damage; however, researchers haven't generally confirmed they play a role in cognitive function within larger animal populations. So, Fuyi Xu, Jia Mi and their colleagues set out to further explore how sleep loss damages the brain and to corroborate their findings.

To start off, the researchers evaluated how well mice navigated a simple maze and learned to recognize new objects after having been sleep deprived for two days. They then extracted the proteins in the animals' hippocampi and identified those whose abundance changed. Then, to further narrow the possibilities, they looked at data linking these proteins to maze performance in related strains of mice that had not experienced sleep deprivation.

This approach led the researchers to pleiotrophin (PTN), which declined in the sleep-deprived mice. Through an analysis of RNA, the team identified the molecular pathway by which a loss of PTN causes cells in the hippocampus to die. When they looked at genetic studies in humans, they found that PTN is implicated in Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases. This research has uncovered a new mechanism by which sleep protects brain function, according to the researchers, who also note that PTN levels could serve as an indicator of cognitive impairment resulting from insomnia.

From Science Daily

Losing sleep over losing sleep: how watching the clock impacts insomnia, use of sleep aids

Watching the clock while trying to fall asleep exacerbates insomnia and the use of sleep aids, according to research from an Indiana University professor -- and a small change could help people sleep better.

The research, led by Spencer Dawson, clinical assistant professor and associate director of clinical training in the College of Arts and Sciences' Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, focuses on a sample of nearly 5,000 patients presenting for care at a sleep clinic.

Insomnia affects between 4 and 22% of adults and is associated with long-term health problems including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and depression.

Participants completed questionnaires about the severity of their insomnia, their use of sleep medication and the time they spent monitoring their own behavior while trying to fall asleep. They were also asked to report any psychiatric diagnoses. Researchers conducted mediation analyses to determine how the factors influenced each other.

"We found time monitoring behavior mainly has an effect on sleep medication use because it exacerbates insomnia symptoms," Dawson said. "People are concerned that they're not getting enough sleep, then they start estimating how long it will take them to fall back asleep and when they have to be up. That is not the sort of activity that's helpful in facilitating the ability to fall asleep -- the more stressed out you are, the harder time you're going to have falling asleep."

As the frustration over sleeplessness grows, people are more likely to use sleep aids in an attempt to gain control over their sleep.

The results are published in The Primary Care Companion for CNS Disorders. Additional co-authors are Dr. Barry Krakow, professor of psychiatry and behavioral health in the Mercer University School of Medicine; Patricia Haynes, associate professor in the Mel and Enid Zuckerman School of Public Health at the University of Arizona and Darlynn Rojo-Wissar, a postdoctoral fellow at Alpert Medical School of Brown University.

Dawson said the research indicates a simple behavioral intervention could provide help for those struggling with insomnia. He gives the same advice to every new patient the first time they meet.

"One thing that people could do would be to turn around or cover up their clock, ditch the smart watch, get the phone away so they're simply not checking the time," Dawson said. "There's not any place where watching the clock is particularly helpful."

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Insomnia in midlife may manifest as cognitive problems in retirement age

The Helsinki Health Study at the University of Helsinki investigated the development of insomnia symptoms in midlife and their effects on memory, learning ability and concentration after retirement. The follow-up period was 15-17 years.

According to the study, long-term insomnia symptoms and later poorer cognitive functioning have a clear connection.

"The findings indicate that severe insomnia symptoms were associated with worse cognitive function among those who were on statutory pension," says Doctoral Researcher Antti Etholén, describing the results of the study.

The study also found that the memory problems, and problems in learning ability and concentration increased as the insomnia symptoms were prolonged.

Sleeping well already in middle age

Prior research has shown that there are a number of mechanisms that can explain how sleep can affect cognitive functioning. What makes the recently published study exceptional is the long follow-up period for insomnia symptoms.

Among other things, the study demonstrated that if insomnia symptoms eased over the years, cognitive functioning was also found to be better at retirement age compared to the problems persisting.

According to the researchers, long-lasting insomnia symptoms should be considered as risk factors for poor cognitive functioning.

"Based on our findings, early intervention tackling insomnia symptoms, or measures aimed at improving the quality of sleep would be justified," says Professor Tea Lallukka.

There are many ways to improve the quality of sleep, including the regularity of the sleep rhythm, the appropriate temperature and brightness of the sleeping environment, and the optimal timing of physical exercise, coffee consumption and eating.

However, Lallukka believes that intervention studies are still needed to ascertain the effects of measures in support of good sleep.

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