Long nights of sleep could lead to higher levels of an Alzheimer\u2019s-related protein in the blood, a UT Health San Antonio study found.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The finding came after studying 2,410 participants and tracking the relation between their sleep duration and the prevalence of a modified form of tau protein, a distinguishable marker of Alzheimer\u2019s disease.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The sharp uptick in association between the protein and sleep came when an individual slept more than 10 hours, though it was first noticeable beginning at eight-and-a-half to nine hours of sleep.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people worry about whether their sleep habits are affecting their brain health,\u201d Young said. \u201cBecause this is a snapshot in time rather than a long-term study, we cannot say that long sleep causes Alzheimer\u2019s. But the findings suggest it may be worth monitoring, and that more sleep is not always better for brain health.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The study participants came from the Framingham Heart Study, a community-based cohort study of residents in Massachusetts. More than 55% of its participants were women, with all participants averaging an age of 70.\u00a0<\/p>\n