WASHINGTON — Scientists are starting to figure out that getting more sleep can really help in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease. But a new study says the position you sleep in can play a role as well.
That’s the conclusion of researchers at Stony Brook University, who say that sleeping on your side can flush your brain of beta-amyloid formations, the junk in your brain that’s been linked to the development of the disease.
The study, published in The Journal of Neuroscience, supports the increasingly popular conclusion that good sleep helps the brain flush out beta-amyloid. It goes further, though, by keeping tabs on the sleeping positions of the rats used in the study.
“The analysis showed that … transport was most efficient in the lateral position compared with the supine or prone positions,” the study abstract says.
There is still no cure for Alzheimer’s. It’s the sixth-leading cause of death in the U.S., the Alzheimer’s Association says.
