DEMENTIA AND SLEEP

Good sleep hygiene is one of the most important things to prevent dementia and Alzheimer's. Unfortunately, there are other factors that contribute to the risk and the one which at present we have no control is heredity.
However, there are a number of steps that can be taken to help sleep and evidence suggests that good sleeping patterns not only help prevent dementia, but also help to slow down the advance of the disease.
Many people say that one'd bed should only be used for sleeping or intimacy. Reading and watching television should be done elsewhere, even if it's from a chair in the bedroom. healthy eating also helps with sleep and brightly coloured vegetables are considered beneficial to sleeping. Sweet food and sweet drinks should be avoided if possible as they may create insulin which will make your body experience highs and lows and disrupt your sleep patterns.Exercise, particularly in the sunshine also helps with sleep and sleeping in a cool room, rather than a warm one is beneficial.
Light is a very important factor in relation to sleep and if possible one should follow the natural order of things which is to sleep in the dark when the sun has gone down. Of course if one moves to another country with a different time zone then 'jet lag' will be experienced, but the body quickly adjusts.Tests have shown that the deepest sleep is between 2am and 4am, but of course the body needs to extend sleep for up to eight hours if possisble .
Older people are often advised to rest or nap in the afternoon and I do so myself, but many doctors advise that a sleep in the afternoon may well disrupt overnight sleeping. Perhaps it's a question of degree and a short nap is beneficial and a deep sleep not.
Certainly light plays a significant role with sleeping. Sometimes sleeping difficulties are caused by our circadian rythyms, or 'body clocks' being out of balance.In the evening as the sky grows darker your brain makes melatonin, which encourages sleep.

• Sleep disorders can be helped by 'light therapy,which involves sitting in front of a special light box for a certain amount of time each day. The light mimics outdoor light and this process it is claimed will help circadian rythms to operate correctly.

David Barnato.
Paarl, South Africa.
barnatod@blogspot.com