Sleep Waves May Shape Alzheimer’s Course, New Study Finds
A small Neurology study of 60 older adults with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's found higher cerebrospinal fluid orexin levels linked to faster disease progression over three years, while stronger sleep spindle and slow-wave activity during non-REM sleep appeared to mitigate this effect. Women showed higher orexin levels. The study's limitations—a small sample size and no healthy control group—mean results are preliminary, and more research is needed to see if orexin-targeting therapies could influence Alzheimer's by improving sleep and brain clearance of toxic proteins.