Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/eHMN3NQAGFI

 

The all-nighters you throw to complete that project or cram for that exam seem harmless, and you seem fine after a good subsequent sleep.  No so says a new Swedish study that shows sleep deprivation triggers deposits of the tau protein synonymous with Alzheimer’s disease.

 

The researchers studied 15 healthy Gen Z men who normally enjoyed a good night’s sleep of 7-9 hours.  The men had an 8.5 fold increase in cerebrospinal fluid tau protein after a all-nighter compared with restful sleep.

 

Tau protein increases also occur after the head trauma that we know leads to dementia.  This latest info suggests that sleepless nights may also be a form of brain abuse.

 

Christian Benedict, Kaj Blennow, Henrik Zetterberg, Jonathan Cedernaes. Effects of acute sleep loss on diurnal plasma dynamics of CNS health biomarkers in young men. Neurology, 2020; 10.1212/WNL.0000000000008866 DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000008866

 

#Allnighter #tau #alzheimers #dementia #CTE