What Is Alzheimer’s Disease?
Alzheimer's disease is a brain disorder that slowly destroys thinking skills and memory. As a result, it gradually affects the ability to carry out simple and routine tasks. It is the most common type of dementia (symptoms affecting thinking, memory, and social ability) in older adults. Alzheimer's disease can be of two types- early onset and late-onset. Early onset Alzheimer's disease occurs between 30 and mid-60 and is very rare. Late-onset type of Alzheimer's disease occurs in the middle 60s.
In Alzheimer's disease, changes occur in the brain tissue, and abnormal clumps or amyloid plaques and tangled fiber bundles get formed. These brain changes can lead to memory problems. In the brain, the messages get transmitted through nerve cells or neurons. In the case of Alzheimer's disease, the connection between the neurons gets lost.
What Are the Symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease?
The initial symptoms of the disease vary from person to person. However, memory problems will occur initially in almost all cases. There will be a decline in other aspects of thinking, like finding the right words, spatial/ vision issues, impaired judgment, or reasoning. People with Alzheimer's disease have trouble doing daily things like paying bills, driving a car, and cooking meals. They will put things in odd places, may ask the same questions again and again, lose things, get lost easily, and find even simple things confusing. The people may eventually get worried, angry, and violent.
What Are the Sleep Problems Associated With Alzheimer’s Disease?
Sleep problems are common in old age. But people with Alzheimer's disease face more difficulties related to sleep patterns. Moreover, with the disease progressing, sleep disturbances also worsen. The common sleep problems associated with the disease are:
1. Feeling extremely sleepy during the daytime.
2. Insomnia (difficulty falling asleep) in the daytime.
3. Frequent awakening during night sleep.
4. Feeling confused and agitated due to lack of sleep.
5. Waking up early in the morning than usual.
6. Wandering at night with a frustrated state of mind.
7. Sundown syndrome or sundowning leads to a group of thoughts, feelings, or behaviors that the person with Alzheimer's disease experiences after sunset. It is also known as late-day confusion. The symptoms of sundowning include the following:
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Memory loss.
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Inability to think.
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Personality changes.
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Altered mood.
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Behavioral changes.
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Inability to judge and reason.
8. People with Alzheimer's disease may get obstructed sleep apnea. It is a severe sleep disorder where the breathing repeatedly stops while sleeping. The patient may snore loudly, choke or show other respiratory symptoms while sleeping.
9. Restless leg syndrome causes a tingling sensation on the legs, which increases on moving. The symptoms get worsen on sleeping.
How Does Poor Sleep Cause Alzheimer’s Disease?
Studies have shown that individuals who constantly receive less than five hours of sleep have an increased potential to develop dementia. Beta-amyloid is a protein that makes up the plaque found in the brain that functions abnormally. The brain will make this protein during the day. At night, during sleep, the brain flushes away this protein. When the person lacks sleep, the brain removes this protein insufficiently. This makes the buildup in the level of beta-amyloid causing dementia or Alzheimer's disease.
How Does Alzheimer’s Disease Affect Sleep?
From the above information, it is clear that poor quality and quantity of sleep can lead to dementia and Alzheimer's disease. A patient with Alzheimer's can also develop sleep problems in the early or late stage of the disease, without making the lack of sleep cause the disease. Healthy sleep is an asset to a healthy body and mind. During night sleep, a person goes through about four to six sleep cycles of varying duration or length. The middle and later stages of the sleep cycle are essential in restoring the body. It is vital to maintain healthy thoughts and memory. In the case of Alzheimer's disease, the person gets adequate sleep only in the initial cycles. Later, less time will be spent on sleeping which worsens the person's memory.
Alzheimer's disease also disturbs a person's circadian rhythm or sleep-wake cycle. It is due to the damage caused to the brain cells and a decrease in the activity of the remaining cells. This is why Alzheimer's patients sleep more during the day and get poor-quality sleep at night.
How to Know if a Person Is Getting Healthy Sleep?
As mentioned above, healthy sleep is essential for a healthy mind and body. Healthy sleep comprises adequate quantity and quality of sleep. If either parameter gets affected, sleep stops providing the rejuvenating and refreshing benefits to the body and mind. The following things will help assess if a person is getting adequate sleep.
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Sleep Duration: Adults between the age of 26 to 64 requires seven to nine hours of sleep per night, and those above 65 need seven to eight hours of sleep.
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Sleep Timing: The circadian rhythm or the natural sleep-wake cycle is influenced by the darkness and the light. It makes specific chemical reactions happen in the body, making the person either wake up (during the day or light) or sleep (during the night or dark). A misaligned circadian rhythm makes it difficult to get enough sleep, stay asleep, or fall asleep.
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Sleep Continuity: Continuous and uninterrupted sleep is essential for a person.
How Can an Alzheimer’s Patient Get Good Sleep?
Getting hygienic sleep may help a patient with Alzheimer's disease to improve their physical health and daytime symptoms. The following steps can be helpful to achieve the same.
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Balancing the Daily Routine: Planning the day to do all the energy-requiring activities in the daytime and the middle of the day and saving the evening to do low-energy work can be helpful. Soothing activities like spending time with the pets, listening to their favorite music, or reading a book can be done in the evening.
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Scheduling the Sleep: Setting a time to sleep and wake up and following the same can be considered.
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Avoid Napping: Taking in between daytime naps can affect night sleep. Avoiding taking naps will be helpful to sleep better at night.
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Spending Time Outdoors: Getting exposed to light can help align the circadian rhythm back and helps to get around the proper sleep-wake cycle.
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Physical Activities: Moving around and doing some form of physical activity can increase blood flow, improve physical and mental health, and bring good sleep.
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Taking Care of Mental Health: Doing activities that help to stay happy and mentally healthy is essential. In addition, gaining the courage to share emotions and mental problems with a mental health expert will aid in getting a happy mind.
Conclusion
Alzheimer's disease and sleep deprivation are like a chicken and egg situation. The disease can be prevented to an extent by getting good sleep throughout one's life. The sleep problems in the patient can also be managed by following the steps given above.
