Dementia: The Mayo Clinic has named a symptom related to how you wake up in the morning

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Dementia – a general term denoting a decrease in brain activity – causes a number of symptoms that significantly impair the quality of life. The nature of the symptoms depends on the type of dementia. Memory loss is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, a common cause of dementia, but it's not the only warning sign.

In fact, “sleep disturbances can affect 25 percent of people with mild to moderate dementia and 50 percent of people with severe dementia “, the Mayo Clinic warns. According to doctors, sleep disturbances tend to worsen as dementia progresses.

What to look for?

The Mayo Clinic explains:

“Possible sleep problems include excessive daytime sleepiness and insomnia with difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. Frequent awakenings at night and early morning awakenings are also common.”

Researchers are not yet sure in which direction the interaction occurs – whether poor sleep causes or exacerbates dementia, or whether dementia leads to poor sleep.

< p>Some researchers believe that both of these theories may be true, and the connection may be circular. The accumulation of amyloid, a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, may account for the link between Alzheimer's disease and sleep-wake cycles.

Elevated levels of amyloid in the brain are commonly seen in people with Alzheimer's disease, and studies have shown that elevated levels of amyloid may be associated with poor sleep quality.