Last week we looked at the lymphatic system which has a role in filtering the blood and in immune response. The ‘sewage system’ of the body. There is an analogous system in the brain called the glymphatic system. 

The glymphatic system got its name from a portmanteau of lymphatic and glial, which are nerve cells in the brain that are associated with glymph. The glymphatic system removes interstitial fluid and debris. Glymphatic activity is low during waking hours, but picks up its activity during sleep (Hauglund et al., 2020). It peaks during the deeper stages of sleep.

There is a protein, amyloid-β, that has a sticky quality. Accumulation of this protein has been associated with neurodegenerative disease such as Alzheimer’s. In fact, 25-60% of patients with Alzheimer’s disease have a sleep dysfunction (Hauglund et al., 2020). Sleep apnea is common and affects 22% of the population (Malhotra, 2009), that’s about 56 million Americans. 

Most people are aware of the repercussions of sleep apnea such as increased risk of hypertension and stroke, but this is a strong association that needs to be talked about. If you chronically snore or choke in your sleep, you must get it evaluated as the emerging evidence just becomes stronger that sleep apnea is a precursor to Alzheimer’s disease. 

References:

Hauglund, N. L., Pavan, C., & Nedergaard, M. (2020). Cleaning the sleeping brain – the potential restorative function of the glymphatic system. Current Opinion in Physiology, 15, 1-6. doi:10.1016/j.cophys.2019.10.020

Malhotra, A. (2009). Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Central Sleep Apnea: Epidemiology, Pathophysiology, and Risk Factors. ACCP Sleep Medicine Board Review: 4th Edition, 193-200. doi:10.1378/smbr.4th.193