For the first time, scientists have identified a link between specific deep sleep rhythms and beta amyloid, a toxic protein associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Postdoctoral fellow Bryce Mander of the University of California, Berkeley co-led the study. He says they also found that the buildup of beta amyloid disrupts the part of sleep that’s critical for promoting the retention of long-term memories.

"So the more of these Alzheimer’s disease toxins that were building up in certain parts of your brain, the more specific sleep rhythms were disrupted, and the more those sleep rhythms were disrupted, the worse people’s memory was."

Mander says these findings are promising because it can lead to new treatment opportunities.

"It’s promising because it suggests there may be specific places we can target, to develop new treatments, to intervene and help promote better more robust sleep, in people who are at risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease, and perhaps even rescue some of the cognitive impairments associated with Alzheimer’s disease."