Research has found that if you often maintain this sleeping position, you may not be prone to Alzheimer's disease, do you?
What is a day like for someone with dementia? A nurse who has been taking care of dementia patients for many years in a foreign country once wrote an article.
When you have mild dementia:
When you wake up, you can still take care of things, even if your T-shirt is turned upside down.
You walk into the kitchen to make a cup of coffee, but you can't find sugar when you look left and right, so you give up. When your mother asks you why the kitchen is so messy, you get angry: I didn't do it, why do you have bad intentions for me!
Back in the room, you don't know why the drawer is open, you forget what you were looking for and what you were looking for.
Lying in bed at night, you will have some strange thoughts: your headphones are missing, someone must have stolen them. Actually, you lost that pair of headphones a few years ago.
By mid-stage dementia:
You resist going out, taking a shower, and you are reluctant to do anything but three meals a day.
Gradually you start to lose your speech, it is difficult for your family to understand your words, and it may be difficult for you to understand the words of others. Your family waved at you, and you just turned away indifferently.
In advanced stages of dementia:
At this point your brain is severely damaged. I used to love listening to music, but now I don't.
Maybe you want to say something, but can only spit out one or two words, and the rest can only be guessed by the caregiver.
Eyesight also deteriorates, and it is difficult to distinguish things around you, even those you are familiar with. And the nervous system is out of whack...and it's hard for others to understand your world.
1. Why is Alzheimer's more and more common?
Alzheimer's disease, commonly known as Alzheimer's disease, is a progressive degenerative disease of the central nervous system. Patients will experience cognitive impairment and behavioral impairment after the onset, which is irreversible.
At present, the etiology of Alzheimer's disease is unknown, and it usually occurs in people aged 60 and above. The incidence of Alzheimer's disease in China is increasing year by year.
In addition to genetic factors, the risk factors of Alzheimer's disease are also affected by acquired factors such as diseases and lifestyles, which may accelerate the occurrence of Alzheimer's disease.
Of course, there is no need to worry too much, it is not a case of dementia.
When people reach old age, although brain cells will degenerate to varying degrees, resulting in a decline in brain function, most of the surviving brain cells still have a certain compensatory function and can maintain normal mental activities. In recent years, studies have also confirmed that the degeneration of brain cells will gradually stop around the age of 90. According to clinical data, only 4%-5% of the elderly will suffer from dementia. Most of the elderly have healthy brain function, not only can live a normal life, but also have a certain ability to learn and work.
However, some early signs of dementia are still worthy of our vigilance.
2. Dementia is not aging, these 10 symptoms are early warning signs
Dementia develops slowly, with an incubation period ranging from months to years, or even as long as 20 years. Therefore, for dementia, early detection and early treatment are the keys.
In the World Report on Alzheimer's Disease 2021, the World Health Organization clearly stated 10 early warning signs of dementia:
Memory loss: The patient will easily forget recent events.
Difficulty planning or problem solving: The patient is unable to perform complex mental tasks, such as not remembering how to cook, reading directions while driving, miscalculating when paying bills.
Difficulty completing familiar tasks: such as not operating a computer, making tea, or going to familiar places.
Confused about time or place: It is difficult for the patient to judge the loss of time, and may forget where they are at any time, and it is also difficult to understand the past and future time, and the year, month, and day are unclear.
Difficulty understanding visuospatial information: Patients may have difficulty reading, judging distance, or distinguishing differences between colors, such as misreading traffic lights.
Speaking or writing disorders: The patient may forget what he or others have said, the words are always incomprehensible or difficult to join the conversation, there may be spelling, punctuation and grammar errors, and some patients' handwriting will become difficult read.
Misplaced things: Patients may not be able to remember where they put everyday items (such as remote controls, important documents, cash or keys) and may sometimes accuse others of stealing for misplaced belongings.
Poor judgment or decision-making: Patients may have difficulty understanding what is fair and reasonable, they may pay too much for something, or it is easy to buy something they don’t need. Some patients may also pay less attention to their personal cleaning and grooming.
Social withdrawal: The patient may not be interested in social activities, be it family life or work. They may become withdrawn, dislike talking to people, or be inattentive when talking to others. They may stop engaging in hobbies or sports that involve other people.
Personality or mood changes: Patients may experience mood swings or personality changes, for example they may become irritable, depressed, fearful or anxious. They may also become more unrestrained or misbehave.
3. How to prevent Alzheimer's: this sleeping position may be useful
The sleep process is a body trimming process, and if the waste cannot be metabolized, it may induce the deposition of beta amyloid and tau protein, which are one of the hypotheses of the cause of Alzheimer's disease.
A study published in the Journal of Neuroscience by the Ben Venist research team of Stony Brook University in the United States found that sleeping on the side is more conducive to the brain's elimination of metabolic waste, which can help reduce Alzheimer's disease. disease, Parkinson's disease, and other neurological disorders.
The researchers quantified the rate of cerebrospinal fluid-interstitial fluid exchange in the brains of anesthetized rodents in the supine, prone, or lateral positions by using dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and a kinetic model, using fluorescence microscopy and radiotracers to validate MRI data and assess the effect of body posture on amyloid beta clearance in the brain.
Optical imaging and radiotracer studies have shown that the lateral decubitus position has the highest efficiency of cerebral lymphatic pathway functioning and Aβ clearance compared with the supine or prone position.
The study's findings not only further support that sleep helps to "clean up" waste chemicals that accumulate in the brain when humans are awake, but also lead to new insights into future treatments for brain diseases. The researchers reminded that in order to prevent dementia, in addition to paying attention to the sleeping position, good sleep quality is also very important.
Four, 3 finger exercises, let the brain move
Fingers have the largest mapping area in the cerebral cortex, and the brain has the strongest control over fingers. Professor Yan Yi from the School of Sports and Human Sciences of Beijing Sport University shared 3 finger exercises that can prevent and treat Alzheimer's disease in the CCTV Science and Education Health Road program.
1. Thumb ring
Four fingers close together, the thumb can be circled clockwise or counterclockwise multiple times. The thumb is not only used the most in actual work, but also has the closest connection with the brain. This action can effectively exercise our brain.
2. Bow left and right
One hand gestures the number 8 posture, the other hand gestures the number 5 posture, with the 8 finger pointing to the palm of the 5, and then changing the movements of the two hands. In this way, the hands can perform different actions at the same time, which can fully mobilize the left and right hemispheres of the brain for exercise.
- Finger addition and subtraction
Use your fingers to represent numbers, plus signs and equals signs, and then do the movements and brain changes to calculate, gradually increasing the difficulty from 1+1. This not only can exercise the coordination relationship between the left and right hands, but also requires the brain to perform memory, judgment and death, and the training requirements for the brain will be higher and richer.
Dementia is a disease other than normal aging that has a serious impact on the lives of older adults. If it is found that the elderly at home have early symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, it is necessary to take the elderly to the hospital for examination and early treatment to delay the progression of the disease. Usually, you can also exercise your brain by moving your fingers more and prevent Alzheimer's.
References:
[1] Alzheimer's disease may have symptoms ten years in advance! These factors must be well controlled. Popular Science China, 2022-01-14
[2] Do you suspect that you or your family may have Alzheimer’s? Please read carefully! .Healthy China, 2021-12-06
[3]Lee， H. et al. (2015). The Effect of Body Posture on Brain Glymphatic Transport. J. Neurosci， 35： 11034-44. DOI： 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1625-15.2015.
[4] Finger exercises, throwing sandbags, and rhythmic dance are often done to prevent Alzheimer 's disease! CCTV Science and Education, 2020-06-05
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