American study: 1 hour more sleep at noon, prone to Alzheimer's! Experts point to 'best time'

Do you love to take a nap? How long do you sleep?

As the saying goes, "If you don't sleep at noon, you will be more tired in the afternoon." Most people have the habit of taking a nap. Some people sleep for two or three hours at a time, or deliberately use the afternoon to make up for sleep, thinking that the longer they sleep, the better.

However, a recent study found that naps that exceed this time are more prone to dementia!

1. Research: An extra hour of sleep at noon increases the risk of Alzheimer’s by 40%

The study, conducted by researchers at the University of California, involved 1,065 older adults with an average age of 81 , 812 of whom had no cognitive impairment, and were followed up for 14 years. A more in-depth assessment of the napping-cognition relationship from two perspectives.

Direction 1: Does cognitive impairment affect nap time?

The study found that for subjects without cognitive impairment, their nap time increased with age by an average of 11 minutes. In contrast, subjects with mild cognitive impairment, their nap time increased by a full two times, to 24 minutes, and subjects with confirmed Alzheimer's disease, their nap time increased by three times , the daily nap time increased by 68 minutes.

Direction 2: Will naps in turn affect cognition?

At the beginning of the study, 75.7% of all subjects had no cognitive impairment, 19.5% had mild cognitive impairment, and 4.1% of them were diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

Six years after the study began, 24 percent of people without cognitive impairment developed Alzheimer's disease . The researchers then extracted the nap records of these "halfway sick" subjects and compared them with those who recognized within six years. Compared with subjects who knew to keep normal, the results showed that there were differences in nap habits between the two.

After excluding dementia, the researchers found that longer and more frequent daytime naps were risk factors for Alzheimer's disease in normal people , specifically compared with people who napped less than an hour a day at least a day. People who took a nap of more than an hour at a time had a 40% increased risk of dementia.

With age and the progression of Alzheimer's disease, the time and frequency of naps increase faster, and researchers believe the relationship between naps and cognition can be explained as a vicious cycle.

Second, can't sleep at noon? How long should you sleep?

A study revealed why nap sleepiness has become a pathogenic factor in Alzheimer's disease. During the study, researchers found that excessive naps during the day were mainly related to the erosion of the brain area responsible for wakefulness by the toxic protein TAU, which The continuous accumulation of the toxic protein TAU can lead to the occurrence of Alzheimer's disease.

There are more tau proteins in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease, which can easily damage the brain regions that regulate wakefulness and sleep, which in turn leads to more and more naps. It is easy to cause tau protein and amyloid protein to deposit and clump in the brain, further aggravating Alzheimer's disease.

The dramatic increase in the timing and frequency of naps also appears to be a particularly important signal of Alzheimer's disease, the researchers said .

So can't we sleep at noon? Not too! In fact, you don't need to worry too much. The study that "nap sleepiness has become a pathogenic factor of Alzheimer's disease" is actually based on the concept of "excessive naps". The so-called excessive naps are naps that last more than an hour.

In daily life, we can take a nap, and it is also necessary. After all, a moderate nap is actually good for the development of the brain and can help slow down the aging of the brain. Leng Yue , an assistant professor at the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco, pointed out: It is best for us to limit our nap time to before 15:00, and to control the nap time to 15 to 20 minutes , which can help us obtain the health benefits of naps. Maximum benefit, while also preventing disturbed nighttime sleep.

3. Alzheimer's disease is harmful, preventing eating four things or effective

Alzheimer's disease is actually a Alzheimer's disease, which tends to occur in the elderly and the incidence increases with age after the age of 65. At present, Alzheimer's disease has become the fourth largest killer that seriously threatens the health of the elderly after cerebrovascular disease, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.

Professor Ji Yong, director of Tianjin Institute of Dementia and chief physician of the Department of Neurology of Tianjin Huanhu Hospital, previously collaborated with a team to find in a survey report involving about 20,000 people in 14 provinces and cities in my country that patients with Alzheimer's disease in my country The disease rate is around 8% to 10%, in other words, 8 out of 100 people over the age of 65 may have Alzheimer's disease.

From the data of the seventh national census, the number of people over the age of 65 in my country is about 190 million, and the number of Alzheimer's patients is at least 15 million. It can be seen that the prevention of Alzheimer's disease is particularly important.

How can we prevent it from eating it? Chen Wei, chief physician of the Clinical Nutrition Department of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, gave suggestions.

1. Pork liver

Acetylcholine constitutes neuron cells, which can directly pass through the blood-brain barrier of the brain and play a fixed physiological role. If acetylcholine is lacking, it is easy to reduce the function of neurons.

Therefore, in daily life, you can properly eat some foods rich in acetylcholine, such as pig liver (359 mg/100g edible), in addition to egg yolks, soy products are rich in acetylcholine, but the content is not as good as pig liver. Experts recommend that each person should consume 500-900 mg of choline per day.

2. Deep sea fish

Deep-sea fish such as salmon and tuna are rich in omega-3 fatty acids , which can increase the fluidity of nerve cells, help fight inflammation in the body, reduce the precipitation of abnormal proteins in the body, and effectively reduce Alzheimer's disease. probability of occurrence.

Expert advice: Each person can meet the needs of the human body by eating about half or two of deep-sea fish each time and eating 2 to 3 times a week.

3. Oranges

Studies have found that when the level of homocysteine ​​in the blood is particularly high, the probability of developing Alzheimer's disease will also increase.

And folic acid can clear homocysteine, reduce its concentration in the blood, help prevent Alzheimer's disease.

Expert advice: Oranges, pineapples, strawberries, kiwis, broccoli, carrots and other foods are rich in folic acid. It is generally recommended to consume 200-400 micrograms of folic acid per day.

4. Nuts

The content of vitamin E and magnesium in nuts is relatively high, and magnesium deficiency is an important pathogenic factor for Alzheimer's disease. Vitamin E can resist oxidation and improve brain cell metabolism and oxygen supply.

Expert advice: consume about 30g of nuts per day, and preferably shelled berries.

It should be reminded here that although some elements rich in these foods play a preventive role to a certain extent, it does not mean that you can be immune to Alzheimer's disease for life, and you should pay attention to the appropriate amount of intake.

Summary: Napping can help us restore our spirits, but we should pay attention to controlling the duration and frequency of naps to avoid increasing the risk of Alzheimer's disease. According to experts, it is best to limit the nap time before 15:00 and control the nap time within 15 to 20 minutes. To prevent Alzheimer's disease, adequate food can be supplemented with adequate amounts of acetylcholine, omega-3 fatty acids, folic acid, vitamin E, and magnesium.

**References:

[1] "[Popular Science Nutrition] Taking a nap for too long, Alzheimer's? An extra hour of sleep at noon increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease by 40%! 》.Clinical Nutrition Network.2022-04-13

[2] "Are you a high-risk group of Alzheimer's disease? Do these 8 things and hit the pause button! ". Health Times. 2021-09-21

[3] "Alzheimer's disease" is terrible, prevention turns out to be so simple! Just eat it! ". CCTV Science and Education. 2019-05-09

Reproduction is prohibited without the author's permission**