Keeping Dementia At Bay: A Good Night’s Rest May Be All You Require

By Marek Struszczyk

The onset of dementia is later in life. Sleeping well is not only about sleeping for the required number of hours. It is also essential to get good quality sleep. If you are a manager trying to support yourself and your family, sleep tends to take a backseat. There are many measures for maintaining a healthy work-life balance and adopting proper sleep habits is one of them.

Insufficient or low-quality sleep leads to a host of health problems, and it could even cause dementia. Let us examine the ill-effects of sleep deprivation. What prevents us from sleeping correctly? What can we do to ensure a good night’s sleep?

Possible Impact of Sleep Deprivation

Impacted Memory

When you sleep, your brain works on rejuvenating memory functions. Thus, without proper sleep, your short-term and long-term memory can get affected.

Reduces Thinking Power

When you don’t sleep properly, you will feel disoriented and will fail to focus correctly. This loss of focus can result in drowsiness during the day and could even lead to accidents.

Increased Risk of Heart Disease

Improper sleep leads to an increase in blood pressure. It can develop into heart problems over an extended period.

1 Door to Diabetes

Lack of sleep can impact insulin production. Lowered insulin production can lead to high blood sugar levels, which may open the door to type 2 diabetes.

2 Reduced Libido

If you don’t get enough sleep, you could suffer a reduction in your sex drive. This condition can occur due to a decrease in testosterone levels in the body.

3 Tendency to Put on Weight

Lack of sleep can cause food cravings, which cause you to eat even when you are not hungry. It can lead to obesity.

4 Lowered Immunity

Your immune system works when you sleep. If you don’t sleep enough, it doesn’t get a chance to do its job, and your immunity suffers.

Sleep Deprivation and Dementia

Good-quality sleep leads to good cognitive health. Limited studies into the relationship between sleep and dementia suggest that sleep deprivation could cause dementia. However, the association is a complicated one, and there is still no conclusive evidence that insufficient sleep causes dementia or dementia results in poor sleep.

Alzheimer’s disease occurs when a protein called beta-amyloid accumulates to form plaque in the brain. The plaque interferes with the way the neurons in the brain and the rest of the body communicate with each other. Extensive sleep research featured the production of beta-amyloid in sleep-deprived mice. However, comprehensive studies have yet to be done on humans.

We discuss the possibility of Alzheimer’s disease here because it is often synonymized with dementia. There is no conclusive evidence to link sleep deprivation and dementia. However, there has been a lot of research done on the way insufficient sleep impacts the brain, particularly regarding Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s disease has no cure. It is progressive and not reversible. The main symptom of this disease is the gradual development of dementia. Due to this reason, we should not neglect our sleep. In any case, healthy sleeping habits are an essential factor in maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

How to Sleep Better

Prevention is better than cure, and in the case of Alzheimer’s disease where there is no cure, prevention is the best remedy. Let us then take a close look at how to ensure that our sleep does not get impacted: 

1. Light Exposure and the Circadian Rhythm

The natural body clock of human beings depends on what is called the “circadian rhythm.” This process recognizes day and night and sends signals to your brain to make you sleep or stay awake. To keep your circadian rhythm in sync, expose your body to natural sunlight in the day, and avoid blue light exposure (light from screens) in the evening and night.

2 Caffeine Consumption

Enjoy your coffee if you must. But avoid drinking it after about 2.00 pm. The effects of caffeine they say last in the blood for up to 12 hours.

3 Melatonin Supplements

Consider taking melatonin supplements. This remedy is popular as a sleeping aid. However, you may need a prescription to get it. In any case, if you are considering melatonin, you should consult your doctor.

4 Avoid Alcohol

Alcohol may disrupt your sleep pattern. If you feel like a drink, try to have it in the early part of the evening. And while on the subject of liquids, avoid drinking them just before you go to bed. The less you visit the bathroom between going to bed and waking up in the morning, the better!

5 Eating Early

Try to eat your last meal about four hours before you go to bed. Also, studies suggest that a low-carb dinner can increase your chances of a good night’s sleep.

6 Comfortable Bedding

Your mattress and pillow should be of good quality and comfortable. Poor-quality bedding can result in backache and neck problems. If you are not entirely comfortable with your bedding, you are likely to experience disturbed sleep.

7 Warm Bath Therapy

Take a warm bath or shower at least 90 minutes before your bedtime. It will relax you and put you in the right frame of mind to fall asleep.

Proper Sleep Management Begins at the Office

Considering that as a manager, you probably keep long hours and have erratic sleeping times, we have omitted some remedies as being impractical. However, out of all the steps we have mentioned above, you will be surprised how many you can initiate while you are still at the office:

1. Light Exposure:

Get out of the office at least once a day during office hours. Take a stroll on the roof garden, terrace or in the open-air parking lot. Get some direct sunlight and fresh air.

2 Caffeine Consumption:

This one’s easy. Have a cup of coffee after lunch, but no later than that.

3 Melatonin:

Carry your melatonin supplements to the office if you need a dose during the day.

4 Early Dinner:

If you are likely to be at the office late, try to have your dinner by 7.00 pm. 

A Good Night’s Sleep Could Keep Dementia at Bay

Let’s assume that sleep deprivation DOES cause dementia later on in life. Better to be safe than sorry. These are just a few of the many measures to strike a healthy work-life balance. Don’t neglect your health as being healthy is a part of being a good manager. Moreover, your family needs a healthy you!

Author Bio

Marek Struszczyk is a high performance coach. Certified health mentor and founder of ManagerUp.com. Helping executives to be healthier, more productive and more successful

The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect all or some of our beliefs and policy.  Any links on this page does not necessarily mean they have been endorsed by Defying Mental Illness.

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