The Snooze Button
The Snooze Button
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Dementia and Sleep: It's Not Just Deep Sleep That Counts
• 34 minDeep sleep has traditionally been the focus of any conversation about dementia and sleep. But that's about to change, if Laura Bojarskaite has anything to say about it. Laura is working on her PhD in Oslo, Norway, with a focus on "brainwashing", or the removal of harmful waste products that accumulate in the brain. (Maybe "brain washing" is a more accurate way to write it.) Dementia is at the heart of Neil's journey into the sleep world to begin with. Similarly, cognition has come up on the show multiple times, too, most notably with Dr. Adrian Owen OBE, in a discussion about cognitive decline associated with sleep deprivation. Equally important, REM sleep removes these waste products as well, according to Laura's research. As a result, people who worry about getting enough deep sleep might be able to breathe a little easier. So if you're obsessing over your tracker data because it says you're not getting enough deep sleep and you're convinced you're headed for a date with Alzheimer's... relax. REM sleep matters in a conversation about dementia, too. As a matter of fact, over and over again we see that all the sleep stages play important roles in all aspects of health, not just cognition. We'd say, "take a deep breath", but Laura gets into that subject, too. More of Laura's work here: Astrocytic Ca2+ signaling is reduced during sleep and is involved in the regulation of slow wave sleep Astrocytes Play an Important Role in Maintaining Slow Wave Sleep From Laura's own bio: Laura is a neuroscientist and a yogi from Lithuania, currently living in Norway. Laura is finishing up her PhD degree at the GliaLab at Letten Center at the University of Oslo. Her field of research is astrocytes, sleep and “brainwashing” – clearance of toxins and waste products from the brain.
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