Could Sleeping On Your Side Stave Off Alzheimer’s?

Could sleeping on your side stave off Alzheimer’s disease? That the suggestion of research conducted at Stony Brook University, where radiologists used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to study the brain’s glymphatic pathway, a  system that clears wastes and other harmful chemicals from the brain. The scientists, who worked with rodents, not humans, found that a lateral sleeping position–the most common sleeping position for humans and most animals, is the best position to most efficiently remove waste from the brain. That’s a good thing, it turns out, because the buildup of brain waste chemicals may contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological conditions. A Stony Brook news release quotes researcher Maiken Nedergaard noting that “it’s interesting that the lateral sleep position is already the most popular in human and most animals – even in the wild – and it appears that we have adapted the lateral sleep position to most efficiently clear our brain of the metabolic waste products that built up while we are awake.” Nedergaard says the study supports the concept that a distinct biological function of sleep is to ‘clean up’ the mess that accumulates while we are awake. “Many types of dementia are linked to sleep disturbances,” says Nedergaard, “including difficulties in falling asleep. It is increasing acknowledged that these sleep disturbances may accelerate memory loss in Alzheimer’s disease. Our finding brings new insight into this topic by showing it is also important what position you sleep in.” Next up–the researchers run the same tests on humans.