Loss of neurons for sleep may explain why older adults suffer from insomnia

http://www.futurity.org/neurons-older-adults-insomnia-750332/

by fraqed • 12 years ago

58 31 12 years ago

tl;dr - a neural basis for insomnia: "The new findings demonstrate for the first time that a group of inhibitory neurons are substantially diminished among the elderly and individuals with Alzheimer’s disease."

Lack of the inhibitory neurons may prevent the brain from entering and maintaining sleep states.

epaladin• 12 years ago

Perhaps also highly correlated with anxiety disorders?

PeterWhittaker2• 12 years ago

Oooo, cool thought.

I studied some psych recently and one of my biggest personal takeaways was amazement that nervous system works as well as it does for so many of us so much of the time, it is such a Goldbergian hackfest of spaghetti wiring and luck. That and reflex loops.

Gotta love evolution.

crazypyro• 12 years ago

Is stay sleep grammatically incorrect? Seems like it should be "stay asleep", but I'm no English major.

gliptic• 12 years ago

"stay sleep" actually kind of means the opposite, as in they can't postpone sleep.

roeme• 12 years ago

Interesting, I never encountered this phrase as well – is it dialect?

tormeh• 12 years ago

If you were a God, you could stay a storm.

Domenic_S2• 12 years ago

Which would be to keep the storm at bay - but the article is talking about how old people DO keep sleep at bay, they DO "stay sleep"

ern• 12 years ago

Stay = delay in some contexts.

But in the context of the OP's content about disrupted and fragmented sleep, it should probably be ''stay asleep'' as you say. Probably a typo or something.

dang• 12 years ago

You're right.

Since the title is kind of baity anyway with its Upworthy 'this', we changed it (from "This could explain why older adults can't stay sleep") to the article's first sentence, truncated to fit.

malvim• 12 years ago

While we're at it, does "a loss of neurons for sleep" really make sense in this case? Sounded weird to me... Is someone really losing neurons FOR sleep? What does this mean?

(Not criticizing, really. As a non-native English speaker, this sounded weird, but I might well be wrong. So I'm asking a genuine question, albeit with a "I think this might be wrong" tone)

serf• 12 years ago

Yes, it makes sense.

The article implies that there are losses of a specific neuron which resides in a specific part of the brain which is thought to control sleep.

The neurons in this story are tasked with helping an individual sleep, thus the title 'Loss of neurons for sleep...' is correct. The neurons in this article are used by the individual FOR sleeping.

I could understand someone interpreting it as a barter or trade. "I will give you these neurons FOR that sleep", however that's not intended. Perhaps "Loss of neurons (for sleep).." or "Loss of neurons which aid in sleep.." would be even more clear.

ams6110• 12 years ago

Or maybe they just have to wake up to pee.

electromagnetic3• 12 years ago

The line that huanted me: “On average, a person in his 70s has about one hour less sleep per night than a person in his 20s".

Since my son was born I average about 4 hours of sleep a night. I actually seem more high functioning on 2 hours than on the rare occasion I get 8 (I joke that my body assumes I'm dead and starts giving up).

I have embraced one thing, something I never understood as a child, falling asleep on the couch. I get my best sleep between the time my wife puts a boring movie on and when she tells me to go to bed.

Qantourisc• 12 years ago

I often think it's because there is no pressure to sleep.

djtriptych• 12 years ago

Interesting. I started crashing just wherever I fell asleep about a year ago. Now I'm realizing I can sleep through the night on almost any surface, without a blanket or pillow, and in a much wider range of temperatures.

It's really nice feeling like you can sleep anywhere.

noir_lord• 12 years ago

I'm much same except I've had insomnia since my teens.

Had a wisdom tooth out which meant no hot drinks and I've been falling asleep pretty much as soon as I shut my eyes which is awesome, I think I'm going to give caffeine up completely for a while and see if that helps.

RyanMcGreal• 12 years ago

Don't worry, you'll sleep again once your child is older.

electromagnetic3• 12 years ago

I will, because I'm only 26. I have friends who are in their late thirties with a newborn. They'll be rapidly moving into the age where sleep becomes a problem, right when their child stops disturbing their sleep (AKA when they're at college).

pdkl95• 12 years ago

...on the couch I get my best sleep... ...boring movie...

Does this imply sitting on the couch? Or other posture that is more vertical than your bed?

If so (and especially if your wife says you snore), you may want to investigate the possibility of obstructive sleep apnea. Changes in position can affect how you breath when fully relaxed (asleep), and sleeping horizontally can be much worse than sitting/reclining. If this is producing a significant change in sleep quality, getting a sleep study is easy and would be very informative.

This is just a guess, of course. Kids are notorious for making sleep-deprived parents.

//my sleep studies where AHI=148 and AHI=150 //for me, sleeping in a reclining position helped that more than CPAP or surgery

electromagnetic3• 12 years ago

It's not sleep apnea, I say snoring but it's actually a groan I do whilst making ridiculously long exhales. I have a very low breathing rate and heart rate, which plummet when sleeping.

I lost 80 lbs and it didn't lessen up at all. I've apparently being doing it since I was a child and my son occasionally does it too!

mililani2• 12 years ago

I've noticed that a lot of people, including myself, don't suffer from insomnia with age, but the ability to sleep deeply for 7 to 8 hours. Nowadays, I average 6 hours of decent sleep, but, no matter how rested (or lack thereof), I get up and feel like crap throughout the day. I have NO problems, though, with falling asleep.

rsync• 12 years ago

All else being equal, exercise solves this problem.

Do an hour or so of resistance training, mainly with your legs[1], and you'll sleep just fine. All else being equal.

Alternatively, you can walk for 3-4 hours, which is actually a surprisingly enjoyable activity - especially in an urban environment. Look up the word "flaneur".

[1] Squats or lunges (or leg press, if you must) for the biggest muscles in your legs, and calf raises, etc., for your calves, which are also quite large muscles.

tatalegma• 12 years ago

Why does this work? Any scientific research backing this suggestion?

mililani2• 12 years ago

No ways. I exercise a lot. I run three times a week, sometimes up to 7 miles each run. I also do lots of weights. Exercising has never helped me to stay asleep. My wife is the same way too. And she exercises just as much as I do. A lot of people I know with similar sleeping problems to this have also said exercise hasn't helped them out.

Loss of neurons for sleep may explain why older adults suffer from insomnia

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