Thread by @WesElyMD

1/ #Sleep & #Dementia: @NatureComms
 
Study of ~8,000 people followed for 25 years! Look at the figures. Sleeping <7 hrs per night chronically increases risk of dementia by 30%.  Get your sleep!

go.nature.com/3tjRxJB

#MedTwitter #MedEd #Geriatrics

2/ Sleep and Dementia Risk: @nytimes

@PamBelluck wrote a great article on this NatureComm paper showing heightened risk of #dementia for “short-sleepers,” defined as <7 hrs of sleep a night.

nyti.ms/3h7KZeV

#Aging #Delirium

3/ What’s the Mechanism?

Our brain’s “trash” clearance (like the body’s Lymphatic system but by brain’s “glial” cells & called Glymphatics) kicks into ⬆️ gear in sleep. So less sleep is like your waste management system going on strike. Kapische??

REF: bit.ly/3eQxtte

4/fin
As a physician & scientist, I lived ~25 years on 4-5 hrs of sleep/night. Just because I could doesn’t mean I should. We didn’t know all this then. Now I get >=7 hrs/night & feel a LOT better. Maybe, just maybe, I won’t get #dementia early & be ⬇️ of a burden to my wife!

People like @sleepdiplomat & @davideagleman are revolutionizing our knowledge in areas of #sleep & #neuroplasticity. Maybe Dr. Walker or Dr. Eagleman can chime in on this 🧵??

#ScienceTwitter #MedTwitter #AcademicTwitter #NurseTwitter