dementia views you can use: March 2019

Friday, March 29, 2019

Delay dementia-Study shows how

Watch: How Alzheimer's Changes the Brain

University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

PROGRESS: A key study shows an easing, in certain respects, of the harsh impact of dementia. On average, people seem to be developing dementia later in life. This means more healthy years and fewer painful ones.

An important study, included in a special supplement to the Journal of Gerontology, indicates that dementia's impact might be compressing a bit. That is, people might be developing dementia later and living with it for a shorter period of time.

More Years in Health, Fewer Years in Dementia

Faster than the lengthening of our lifespans, has been the increase in dementia-free years. That means people continue to live longer. On top of that, more and more of those years are spent free of dementia.

Sudha Seshadri, M.D., professor of neurology and founding director of the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's & Neurodegenerative Diseases at UT Health San Antonio, is the senior author on the study, which draws evidence from the Framingham Heart Study.

In data from four different time periods over a period of 30 years, the mean age at dementia onset increased, while the length of time living with dementia decreased.

Improvements in Stroke Treatment Lowers Dementia

Is it because prevention and care of stroke today is superior compared to decades ago? Stroke is a major risk factor for dementia.

"Prevention of stroke and reduced impact of stroke are great advances, but neither completely explains the trend we are seeing," Dr. Seshadri said. "We are looking at other causes, such as:

Lower burden of multiple infections because of vaccination, and
Possibly lower levels of lead or other pollutants in the atmosphere.
Early education and nutrition might also play a role."

Stroke risk has decreased because of greater control of blood pressure. Dr. Seshadri again cited Framingham data: "In the past, if you had a stroke you were at 90 percent greater risk to develop dementia. Today, you have a 40 percent greater risk," she said.

REFERENCE:

Carole Dufouil, Alexa Beiser, Geneviève Chêne, Sudha Seshadri. Are Trends in Dementia Incidence Associated With Compression in Morbidity? Evidence From The Framingham Heart Study. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 2018; 73 (suppl_1): S65 DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gby001

SOURCE:

University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

Tuesday, March 26, 2019

Dementia professionals-Top tips for you

Saturday, March 23, 2019

Reduce side effects of Alzheimer's drugs

Sun Pharma gets USFDA approval to market Exelon^® capsules, IRIS. 23 October, 2007.
Feldman, H.H., Lane R.: Study 304 Group, Rivastigimine a placebo controlled trial of twice daily and three times daily regimens in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry. 2007 October; 78(10):1056-63. Epub 2007 Mar 12.

Learn the best ways to dose Alzheimer's medications. See how anti-dementia drugs like Exelon^®(rivastigmine) help treat Alzheimer's symptoms.

An important study shows anti-Alzheimer's capsulesare better tolerated when spread out over a three-times-a-day regimen. Similarly, anti-Alzheimer's skin-patches can lower side-effects by slowly releasing medication throughout the day.

The study used the dementia drug known by the brand-name Exelon^®, or generically as rivastigmine. Exelon is an "acetylcholinesterase inhibitor", as are Aricept (donepezil) and Razadyne (galantamine). They all treat dementias such as Alzheimer's in very similar ways. They also share similar side-effects.

Continued below video...

Exelon^® (rivastigmine) is one of the most common medications prescribed for people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease is caused by degeneration of the nerve cells that produce acetylcholine. Because of this, preventing loss of this chemical by taking Exelon^® may improve a person's memory, the ability to express himself, understand where he or she is, and to carry out his daily living activities.

Exelon^® slows down Alzheimer’s cognitive decline by preventing the loss of a brain chemical called acetylcholine. Acetylcholine is important for memory and learning.

These 3 Alzheimer's drugs are similar, working as Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitors:
Brand Name	Generic
Exelon	rivastigmine
Aricept	donepezil
Razadyne	galantamine

It has been more than 10 years since Exelon^® first came out on the market. It is now used to treat Alzheimer's disease in more than 70 countries around the world. It is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease dementia in the United States as well as by the European Commission in Europe.

There are several different forms of Exelon^® and a number of different doses, making it easier and safer to take, including gel capsules, liquid and through a skin patch.

As mentioned, a study published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry found that Exelon^® capsules were best tolerated when prescribed in a three-times-a-day regimen, instead of twice a day. According to the principle investigator, Dr. Howard H. Feldman, the overall daily dose remained the same, but was divided into three smaller doses, distributed evenly throughout the day. This reduced side effects because the dosage-spike was lower when the level of medication swallowed at one time was lower.

For people who can't swallow pills, Exelon^® is available in liquid form. Many elderly people have trouble swallowing pills and they often fight with caregivers over having to take the medication as a result. Liquid is less threatening.

Exelon^® is also available in a skin patch, which makes it easier on the patient and the caregiver because it eliminates the need to make sure the liquid or pills are swallowed on time, three times a day. Instead, the medication is absorbed directly from the patch through the skin and into the bloodstream, where it is supplied continually for 24 hours. It only needs to be changed at the beginning of each day, which is a great convenience.

An even more important advantage is in the patch providing a visual reassurance for the caregiver and patient that the patient is receiving their medication.

Exelon^® is also available as generic rivastigmine. Typically, the generic is cheaper than the brand name, Exelon^®, while being the same medication. This is especially important for the elderly, where income often becomes more limited.

One producer of generic rivastigmine capsules is Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, a specialty pharmaceutical company located in India which distributes advanced generic medicines in the United States. Their generic version of Exelon^® come in four strengths: 1.5 mg, 3 mg, 4.5 mg and 6 mg.

Thursday, March 21, 2019

Song that inspires those with Alzheimer's, their families and others

Caregivers, and healthcare professionals,here is some great information

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professionals,

Follow alzheimersideas on twitter
The Dementia Caregiver's Little Book of Hope [Kindle Edition]

Your residents will love the Amazon Kindle Fire

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care professionals to get an easyceu or two

Jay Allen

Raising 20 million dollars for Alzheimer's, Jay Allen found the courage to write a song about the journey in caring for his mom's Alzheimer's. The song is called "Blank Stares". His vision is that this song will raise awareness, bring hope to those affected, and most importantly, become a weapon in the fight against Alzheimer's.

My name is Jay Allen. I'm a country music artist and songwriter signed to Sony/ATV in Nashville, TN.

ABC News on Jay Allen's song: (Letter by Jay Allen and Music Video below...)

My mom has early onset Alzheimer's, and at the age of only 52, she's now showing signs of stage 6. It's something that has affected my family deeply, something that we can't escape, and it brings me to my knees most days.

Original Music Video: (Article continued below...)

PDFI grew up in small town rural Iowa with mom(Sherry), dad(Joe), and my two baby sisters(Cassie and Amber). We didn't have a lot, but our parents always seemed to find a way, sometimes working 2-3 jobs each to make sure we had enough. Looking back, it was a humbling childhood, but what I think affected me most was my mother's affection and selflessness towards all of us. She always put her children first, no matter what the sacrifice. If we wanted some stupid toy for Christmas, she would work the overtime or pick up an extra shift. She didn't care what it took, she just wanted us to be happy.

When I was in middle school, I remember asking my mom what she would change to make her life better if she could go back in time.

"Blank Stares" - Jay Allen gives moving intro, live at the County Fair: (Letter continued below...)

Her response was, "I wouldn't change a thing. I was made to be a good mom. I live for you kids."

Now that I'm older, I hold onto those words as I watch this horrible disease steal away a beautiful woman. Sometimes I want to yell at God when I hear her stumble through a simple sentence, or when I look at her and feel like she's not even there anymore. It makes me so mad, and it kills me that I can't fix it. But then there are the moments of hope, when dad brings her to visit Nashville and we dance all night at The Sutler…or when she grins and taps her foot to the live music…or when I wrap my arms around her, and she takes a deep breath and says, "I've missed you, Jay."

Her words, the good memories, and the moments of joy - that's what I hold onto.

As a songwriter and up-and-coming artist, I feel that I have an obligation to be a positive role-model, and to also give back by utilizing the gifts that God has blessed me with. In realizing the importance of this, I finally found the courage to write a song about my experience, called "Blank Stares". My vision is that this song will raise awareness, bring hope to those affected, and most importantly, become a weapon in the fight against Alzheimer's.

So please, download your copy of "Blank Stares" today, share, and dream with me. Music is powerful. Let's do something with it.

With all my heart,
Jay Allen

Tuesday, March 19, 2019

Why high sugar increases dementia risk>

Caregivers, and healthcare professionals,here is some great information

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professionals,

Follow alzheimersideas on twitter
The Dementia Caregiver's Little Book of Hope [Kindle Edition]

Your residents will love the Amazon Kindle Fire

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care professionals to get an easyceu or two

Group Health Research Institute.

Dementia risks for 17 sugar levels were tested in 2000 people. Without exception, each higher level bumped up the risk. See why researchers found these results so astonishing.

A joint Group Health-University of Washington (UW) study in the New England Journal of Medicine has found that higher blood sugar levels are associated with higher dementia risk, even among people who do not have diabetes. (Continued below video.)

Continued below video...

Blood sugar levels averaged over a five-year period were associated with rising risks for developing dementia, in this report about more than 2,000 Group Health patients age 65 and older in the Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) study.

There was No Level Where Risk Leveled Off

For example, in people without diabetes, risk for dementia was 18 percent higher for people with an average glucose level of 115 milligrams per deciliter compared to those with an average glucose level of 100 mg/dl. And in people with diabetes, whose blood sugar levels are generally higher, dementia risk was 40 percent higher for people with an average glucose level of 190 mg/dl compared to those with an average glucose level of 160 mg/dl.

"The most interesting finding was that every incrementally higher glucose level was associated with a higher risk of dementia in people who did not have diabetes," said first author Paul K. Crane, MD, MPH, an associate professor of medicine at the UW School of Medicine, adjunct associate professor of health services at the UW School of Public Health, and affiliate investigator at Group Health Research Institute. "There was no threshold value for lower glucose values where risk leveled off."

Very Rich Data

"One major strength of this research is that it is based on the ACT study, a longitudinal cohort study, where we follow people for many years as they lead their lives," said senior author Eric B. Larson, MD, MPH, a senior investigator at Group Health Research Institute who also has appointments at the UW Schools of Medicine and Public Health. "We combine information from people's research visits every other year with data from their visits to Group Health providers whenever they receive care. And this gave us an average of 17 blood sugar measurements per person: very rich data."

These measurements included blood glucose (some fasting, some not) and glycated hemoglobin (also known as HbA1c). Blood sugar levels rise and fall in peaks and valleys throughout each day, but glycated hemoglobin doesn't vary as much over short intervals.

Sophisticated Statistical Models

Combining glucose and glycated hemoglobin measures into a composite measure required special statistical techniques, which Drs. Crane and Larson's co-authors Rod Walker, MS, a biostatistician, and Rebecca Hubbard, PhD, an associate investigator, both from Group Health Research Institute, had developed. (Dr. Hubbard is also an affiliate assistant professor of biostatistics at the UW School of Public Health.) These sophisticated statistical models required specialized data on the relationships between glycated hemoglobin and glucose levels, and they used data generated by co-author David M. Nathan, MD, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of the Diabetes Center at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Sunday, March 17, 2019

Why exercise to prevent Alzheimer's?

This is a great way to get a simple yet complete workout in just 5 minutes a day.

Why use Workout Exercises for Fitness?

This best fitness workout plan isn't strenuous
You don't need special clothes
The keep-fit exercises are a great wake-up for your brain
And the fitness workout is suitable for all ages -- and fantastic for the over-50's!

This program seems simple -- and it is. But the series of fitness exercises is designed to get each of the major muscle groups engaged and active -- just what you need for a fitness workout that will keep you fit for life. It isn't a weight loss program but it will give you the energy to start on that if that is what you are looking for.

Try it even if you are not as active now as you once were. Life experiences differ and some folk can't do the standing parts anymore. Well, no worries -- just do the arm exercises and most of the leg exercises sitting down. You are still achieving a lot and you will feel much better for the few minutes spent on these exercises for fitness. You can even do the 'lying down' ones in bed!

You don't have to accept memory loss as a way of life! Exercise is a key factor in brain health. Want to see some solid research showing how exercise improves memory? Go to the "Pick a Topic" box in the right column and click on "Exercise".

If you prefer a written copy of the Workout Exercises for Fitness, go to http://brainandmemoryfoundation.org.

The Brain and Memory Foundation was established by Dr. Allison Lamont and Gillian Eadie to help the over-50 age group build more brain connections as a buffer against dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

How many sub types of Alzheimer's are there?

Caregivers, and healthcare professionals,here is some great information

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professionals,

Follow alzheimersideas on twitter
The Dementia Caregiver's Little Book of Hope [Kindle Edition]

Your residents will love the Amazon Kindle Fire

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care professionals to get an easyceu or two

UCLA, University of California at Los Angeles

Until now, Alzheimer's was thought to be a single disease. Advanced research is redefining Alzheimer's, showing three distinct subtypes. Find out the differences.

Alzheimer's disease, long thought to be a single disease, really consists of three distinct subtypes, according to a UCLA study.

The finding could lead to more highly targeted research and, eventually, new treatments for the debilitating neurological disorder, which robs people of their memories.

The study further found that one of the three variations, the cortical subtype, appears to be fundamentally a different condition than the other two, said Dr. Dale Bredesen, the study's author, a UCLA professor of neurology and member of the Easton Laboratory for Neurodegenerative Disease Research.

"Because the presentation varies from person to person, there has been suspicion for years that Alzheimer's represents more than one illness," said Bredesen, who also is the founding president of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging. "When laboratory tests go beyond the usual tests, we find these three distinct subtypes.

"The important implications of this are that the optimal treatment may be different for each group, there may be different causes, and, for future clinical trials, it may be helpful to study specific groups separately."

The subtypes are:

Inflammatory, in which markers such as C-reactive protein and serum albumin to globulin ratios are increased.
Non-inflammatory, in which these markers are not increased but other metabolic abnormalities are present.
Cortical, which affects relatively young individuals and appears more widely distributed across the brain than the other subtypes of Alzheimer's. It typically does not seem to cause memory loss at first, but people with this subtype of the disease tend to lose language skills. It is often misdiagnosed, typically affects people who do not have an Alzheimer's-related gene and is associated with a significant zinc deficiency.

The findings of the two-year study, which involved metabolic testing of 50 people, appear in the current issue of the peer-reviewed journal Aging.

No effective therapy for Alzheimer's exists. And scientists have yet to completely identify the cause, although multiple studies have pointed to metabolic abnormalities such as insulin resistance, hormonal deficiencies and hyperhomocysteinemia, a condition characterized by an abnormally high level of an amino acid in the blood.

In an earlier paper, Bredesen showed that making lifestyle, exercise and diet changes designed to improve the body's metabolism reversed cognitive decline in nine out of 10 patients with early Alzheimer's disease or its precursors.

The current finding grew out of an extensive evaluation of the data from last year's study, and it could eventually help scientists pinpoint more precise targets for treatments -- the same approach that has led to major advances in treating other diseases.

For example, Bredesen explained, researchers have recently been able to develop precise treatments for cancer by sequencing tumor genomes and comparing them to the patients' genomes to better understand what drives the formation and growth of tumors.

"However, in Alzheimer's disease, there is no tumor to biopsy," Bredesen said. "So how do we get an idea about what is driving the process? The approach we took was to use the underlying metabolic mechanisms of the disease process to guide the establishment of an extensive set of laboratory tests, such as fasting insulin, copper-to-zinc ratio and dozens of others."

Going forward, Bredesen and his team will seek to determine whether the subtypes have different underlying causes, and whether they respond differently to potential treatments.

The need for a new approach to treat Alzheimer's is urgent. It is the most common age-related dementia, and the number of people with the disease in the U.S. is expected to increase to 15 million in 2050, from nearly 6 million today. The cost to treat people in the U.S. with Alzheimer's and other dementias is expected to be $226 billion in 2015 alone, and could reach $1.1 trillion in 2050.

Monday, March 11, 2019

Less Alzheimer's with better sleep and sleep tips

Washington University School of Medicine, by Tamara Bhandari.
Sleep Tips by NIH MedlinePlus
Current Biology, published by Cell Press
AlzForum, Rocking Improves Sleep and Memory in Adults, 25 January 2019.

Sleeplessness has just been shown to accelerate the spread of toxic clumps of Alzheimer's tau. "Our brains need time to recover from the stresses of the day," says Dr. David Holtzman. Learn why. Get these 13 tips to a good night's sleep.

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown that sleeplessness accelerates the spread through the brain of toxic clumps of tau - a harbinger of brain damage and decisive step along the path to dementia.

Sleep Deprivation Increases Tau

Poor sleep has long been linked with Alzheimer's disease, but researchers have understood little about how sleep disruptions drive the disease.

Now, studying mice and people, the research team found that sleep deprivation increases levels of the key Alzheimer's protein tau.

These findings, published online in the journal Science, indicate that lack of sleep alone helps drive the disease, and suggests that good sleep habits may help preserve brain health.

Sleep Affects Tau's Spread

"The interesting thing about this study is that it suggests that real-life factors such as sleep might affect how fast the disease spreads through the brain," said senior author David Holtzman, MD, the Andrew B. and Gretchen P. Jones Professor and head of the Department of Neurology. "We've known that sleep problems and Alzheimer's are associated in part via a different Alzheimer's protein -- amyloid beta -- but this study shows that sleep disruption causes the damaging protein tau to increase rapidly and to spread over time."

Tau is normally found in the brain -- even in healthy people -- but under certain conditions it can clump together into tangles that injure nearby tissue and presage cognitive decline. Recent research at the School of Medicine has shown that tau is high in older people who sleep poorly. But it wasn't clear whether lack of sleep was directly forcing tau levels upward, or if the two were associated in some other way. To find out, Holtzman and colleagues including first authors Jerrah Holth, PhD, a staff scientist, and Sarah Fritschi, PhD, a former postdoctoral scholar in Holtzman's lab, measured tau levels in mice and people with normal and disrupted sleep.

Tau Levels Doubled from Disturbed Rest

Mice are nocturnal creatures. The researchers found that tau levels in the fluid surrounding brain cells were about twice as high at night, when the animals were more awake and active, than during the day, when the mice dozed more frequently. Disturbing the mice's rest during the day caused daytime tau levels to double.

Much the same effect was seen in people. Brendan Lucey, MD, an assistant professor of neurology, obtained cerebrospinal fluid -- which bathes the brain and spinal cord -- from eight people after a normal night of sleep and again after they were kept awake all night. A sleepless night caused tau levels to rise by about 50 percent, the researchers discovered.

Tau from Normal Thinking and Doing

Staying up all night makes people stressed and cranky and likely to sleep in the next chance they get. While it's hard to judge the moods of mice, they, too, rebounded from a sleepless day by sleeping more later. To rule out the possibility that stress or behavioral changes accounted for the changes in tau levels, Fritschi created genetically modified mice that could be kept awake for hours at a time by injecting them with a harmless compound. When the compound wears off, the mice return to their normal sleep-wake cycle -- without any signs of stress or apparent desire for extra sleep.

Using these mice, the researchers found that staying awake for prolonged periods causes tau levels to rise. Altogether, the findings suggest that tau is routinely released during waking hours by the normal business of thinking and doing, and then this release is decreased during sleep allowing tau to be cleared away. Sleep deprivation interrupts this cycle, allowing tau to build up and making it more likely that the protein will start accumulating into harmful tangles.

Tau, Memory & Thinking

In people with Alzheimer's disease, tau tangles tend to emerge in parts of the brain important for memory -- the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex -- and then spread to other brain regions. As tau tangles mushroom and more areas become affected, people increasingly struggle to think clearly.

To study whether the spread of tau tangles is affected by sleep, the researchers seeded the hippocampi of mice with tiny clumps of tau and then kept the animals awake for long periods each day. A separate group of mice also was injected with tau tangles but was allowed to sleep whenever they liked. After four weeks, tau tangles had spread further in the sleep-deprived mice than their rested counterparts. Notably, the new tangles appeared in the same areas of the brain affected in people with Alzheimer's.

The researchers also found that disrupted sleep increased release of synuclein protein, a hallmark of Parkinson's disease. People with Parkinson's -- like those with Alzheimer's -- often have sleep problems.

Enough Slow-Wave Sleep is All You Need

Henrik Zetterberg at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, has reassuring research suggesting that only complete sleep deprivation budges cerebrospinal fluidbiomarkers. In volunteers who slept four hours per day for five nights in a row, he found no change in the tau biomarkers (Olsson et al., 2018).

The volunteers still obtained a normal amount of deep, slow-wave sleep each night, considered the most protective for the brain. He concluded, “One or a few nights of short sleep does not affect tau concentration.”

Sleep Seems to Delay & Slow Dementia

"Getting a good night's sleep is something we should all try to do," Holtzman said. "Our brains need time to recover from the stresses of the day. We don't know yet whether getting adequate sleep as people age will protect against Alzheimer's disease. But it can't hurt, and this and other data suggest that it may even help delay and slow down the disease process if it has begun."

Tips for Getting a Good Night's Sleep

Stick to a sleep schedule. Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day. As creatures of habit, people have a hard time adjusting to changes in sleep patterns. Sleeping later on weekends won't fully make up for a lack of sleep during the week and will make it harder to wake up early on Monday morning.
Exercise is great, but not too late in the day. Try to exercise at least 30 minutes on most days but not later than 2-3 hours before your bedtime.
Avoid caffeine and nicotine before bed. Coffee, colas, certain teas, and chocolate contain the stimulant caffeine, and its effects can take as long as 8 hours to wear off fully. Therefore, a cup of coffee in the late afternoon can make it hard for you to fall asleep at night. Nicotine is also a stimulant, often causing smokers to sleep only very lightly. In addition, smokers often wake up too early in the morning because of nicotine withdrawal.
Avoid alcoholic drinks before bed. Having a "nightcap" or alcoholic beverage before sleep may help you relax, but heavy use robs you of deep sleep and REM sleep, keeping you in the lighter stages of sleep. Heavy alcohol ingestion also may contribute to breathing impairment at night. You also tend to wake up in the middle of the night when the effects of the alcohol have worn off.
Avoid large meals and beverages late at night. A light snack is okay, but a large meal can cause indigestion that interferes with sleep. Drinking too many fluids at night can cause frequent awakenings to urinate.
If possible, avoid medicines that delay or disrupt your sleep. Some commonly prescribed heart, blood pressure, or asthma medications, as well as some over-the-counter and herbal remedies for coughs, colds, or allergies, can disrupt sleep patterns. If you have trouble sleeping, talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist to see whether any drugs you're taking might be contributing to your insomnia and ask whether they can be taken at other times during the day or early in the evening.
Don't take naps after 3 p.m. Naps can help make up for lost sleep, but late afternoon naps can make it harder to fall asleep at night.
Relax before bed. Don't overschedule your day so that no time is left for unwinding. A relaxing activity, such as reading or listening to music, should be part of your bedtime ritual.
Take a hot bath before bed. The drop in body temperature after getting out of the bath may help you feel sleepy, and the bath can help you relax and slow down so you're more ready to sleep.
Have a good sleeping environment. Get rid of anything in your bedroom that might distract you from sleep, such as noises, bright lights, an uncomfortable bed, or warm temperatures. You sleep better if the temperature in the room is kept cool. A TV, cell phone, or computer in the bedroom can be a distraction and deprive you of needed sleep. Having a comfortable mattress and pillow can help promote a good night's sleep. Individuals who have insomnia often watch the clock. Turn the clock's face out of view so you don't worry about the time while trying to fall asleep.
Have the right sunlight exposure. Daylight is key to regulating daily sleep patterns. Try to get outside in natural sunlight for at least 30 minutes each day. If possible, wake up with the sun or use bright room lights in the morning. Sleep experts recommend that, if you have problems falling asleep, you should get an hour of exposure to morning sunlight and turn down the lights before bedtime.
Don't lie in bed awake. If you find yourself still awake after staying in bed for more than 30 minutes or if you are starting to feel anxious or worried, get up and do some relaxing activity until you feel sleepy. The anxiety of not being able to sleep can make it harder to fall asleep.
See a health professional if you continue to have trouble sleeping. If you consistently find it difficult to fall or stay asleep and/or feel tired or not well rested during the day despite spending enough time in bed at night, you may have a sleep disorder. Your family healthcare provider or a sleep specialist should be able to help you, and it is important to rule out other health or emotional problems that may be disturbing your sleep.

Rock Yourself to Sleep

Dr. Holtzman wants to investigate enhancing slow-wave sleep in mice, to see if it slows the progression of tau pathology. This type of intervention might also work for people. Two new studies show that rocking leads to better sleep and memory consolidation and lengthens slow-wave slumber.

The two new studies reported in Current Biology, one conducted in young adults and the other in mice, add to evidence for the broad benefits of a rocking motion during sleep. In fact, the studies in people show that rocking not only leads to better sleep, but it also boosts memory consolidation during sleep.

Longer Periods of Deeper Sleep

"Having a good night's sleep means falling asleep rapidly and then staying asleep during the whole night," says Laurence Bayer of the University of Geneva, Switzerland. "Our volunteers--even if they were all good sleepers--fell asleep more rapidly when rocked and had longer periods of deeper sleep associated with fewer arousals during the night. We thus show that rocking is good for sleep."

Bayer and their colleagues had earlier shown that continuous rocking during a 45-minute nap helped people to fall asleep faster and sleep more soundly. In the new study, led by Laurence Bayer and Sophie Schwartz, University of Geneva, Switzerland, they wanted to explore the effects of rocking on sleep and its associated brain waves throughout the night.

Rocking Achieves Deeper, Faster Sleep

The researchers enlisted 18 healthy young adults to undergo sleep monitoring in the lab. The first night was intended to get them used to sleeping there. They then stayed two more nights--one sleeping on a gently rocking bed and the other sleeping on an identical bed that wasn't moving.

The data showed that participants fell asleep faster while rocking. Once asleep, they also spent more time in non-rapid eye movement sleep, slept more deeply, and woke up less.

Memory & Sleep

Next, the researchers wanted to know how that better sleep influenced memory. To assess memory consolidation, participants studied word pairs. The researchers then measured their accuracy in recalling those paired words in an evening session compared to the next morning when they woke up. They found that people did better on the morning test when they were rocked during sleep.

Further studies showed that rocking affects brain oscillations during sleep. They saw that the rocking motion caused an entrainment of specific brain oscillations of non-rapid eye movement sleep (slow oscillations and spindles). As a result, the continuous rocking motion helped to synchronize neural activity in the thalamo-cortical networks of the brain, which play an important role in both sleep and memory consolidation.

Better Sleep for Both People and Animals

The second study in mice by Konstantinos Kompotis and colleagues is the first to explore whether rocking promotes sleep in other species. And, indeed, it did. The researchers, led by Paul Franken, University of Lausanne, Switzerland, used commercial reciprocating shakers to rock the cages of mice as they slept.

While the best rocking frequency for mice was found to be four times faster than in people, the researchers' studies show that rocking reduced the time it took to fall asleep and increased sleep time in mice as it does in humans. However, the mice did not show evidence of sleeping more deeply.

Sleep, Rocking and the Vestibular System

Researchers had suspected that the effects of rocking on sleep were tied to rhythmic stimulation of the vestibular system, the sensory system that contributes to the sense of balance and spatial orientation. To explore this notion in the mouse, the researchers studied animals whose vestibular systems were disrupted by non-functioning otolithic organs, found in their ears. Their studies showed that mice lacking working otolithic organs experienced none of the beneficial effects of rocking during sleep.

Taken together, the two studies "provide new insights into the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the effects of rocking stimulation on sleep," Bayer and Perrault write. The findings may be relevant for the development of new approaches for treating patients with insomnia and mood disorders, as well as older people, who frequently suffer from poor sleep and memory impairments.

Leading to Better Ways to Cope with Insomnia

The researchers say it will be essential in future work to explore the precise deeper brain structures involved in the effects of rocking on sleep. "Current tools, such as optogenetics, can help us decipher which structures, or even neuronal populations, receive the stimulus from the otolithic organs and transfer it further to the structures of the sleep circuitry," Franken says. "Mapping the network of communication between the two systems will provide with basic understanding, as well as novel clinical targets to cope with sleep disorders, like insomnia."

REFERENCES:

Holth JK, Fritschi SK, Wang C, Pedersen NP, Cirrito JR, Mahan TE, Finn MB, Manis M, Geerling JC, Fuller PM, Lucey BP, Holtzman DM. The sleep-wake cycle regulates brain interstitial fluid tau in mice and CSF tau in humans. Science, 2019. DOI: 10.1126/science.aav2546
Current Biology, Perrault et al.: "Whole-Night Continuous Rocking Entrains Spontaneous
Washington University School of Medicine, by Tamara Bhandari.
Sleep Tips by NIH MedlinePlus
Current Biology, published by Cell Press
AlzForum, Rocking Improves Sleep and Memory in Adults, 25 January 2019.
Neural Oscillations with Benefits for Sleep and Memory" DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.12.028
Current Biology, Kompotis et al.: "Rocking Promotes Sleep in Mice through Rhythmic Stimulation of the Vestibular System" DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.12.007

SUPPORT:

This work was supported by the BrightFocus Foundation, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the JPB Foundation, the Tau Consortium, and McDonnell Center for Systems Neuroscience at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

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