Lack of sleep can lead to long-term memory loss.

Sleepless nights not only affect your memory the next day but also increase your risk of Alzheimer's disease. Researchers suggest that lack of sleep causes a memory-damaging protein to gradually accumulate in the brain.

High levels of this beta-amyloid protein disrupt sleep, creating a toxic process that ultimately leads to Alzheimer's disease.

Researchers say this finding could offer hope for treating dementia in older adults and those with symptoms of the disease.

Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia affect more than 800,000 people worldwide, a number that could rise to 44 million by 2050 as the world's population ages.

Given the limited effectiveness of medication and the failures in treating this disease, doctors believe that dietary and lifestyle changes are the best way to prevent it.

The latest research by California scientists investigated the relationship between the protein beta amyloid, sleep quality, and memory in men and women aged 60 to 80. They were tested for beta amyloid levels in their brains, asked 120 memory-challenging questions, and retested after sleeping for eight hours.

Those with the highest levels of beta amyloid in their brains had the worst sleep quality, lacking the deep sleep necessary for memory recovery. These individuals also scored the lowest on memory tests.

Previous studies have shown that deep sleep clears beta amyloid from the brain, and scientists believe that sleep deprivation creates a toxic cycle that makes memory progressively worse.

The more beta amyloid in certain parts of the brain, the less deep sleep you get, and as a result, your memory worsens. Furthermore, the less deep sleep you get, the harder it is to clear this harmful protein.

If you can improve your sleep, you can break the toxic cycle that causes illness.

Dr. Ian Le Guillou, who specializes in Alzheimer's research, said: "We need studies on larger groups to look deeper into how sleep deprivation can lead to memory problems and potentially develop treatments."

According to Gia dinh.net