New study warns a bad night's sleep could increase risk of Alzheimer's disease

Sleep deprivation has been associated with a number of health issues. Now a new study has found loosing just one night of a good sleep increases your risk of Alzheimer’s disease, the Daily Mail reported.

One sleepless night is all it takes to raise the levels of a toxic protein that is linked to the condition. Researchers discovered lack of sleep increased the beta-amyloid protein in the brain by 5% in 20 participants.

The study also found:
* Beta-amyloid was 21% more in people who suffer mild memory loss
* Beta-amyloid was 43% high for Alzheimer's disease patients

This is the first study to show a direct link between one sleepless night and Alzheimer's disease. Sleep is essential to clear out the beta-amyloid, which has a negative impact on memory.

The study's results add to growing evidence of a link between disrupted sleep and Alzheimer's disease. "This very small study suggests that one night of sleep deprivation can raise levels of the hallmark Alzheimer's protein amyloid, strengthening suggestions that sleep is important for limiting the build-up of this protein in the brain, Dr David Reynolds, chief scientific officer at the charity at Alzheimer's Research UK, told the Daily Mail.

What is not clear is if the effects are long-term or short-term. "The increase in beta-amyloid we saw in the brains of people who were sleep-deprived is likely to be a harmful process,"lead author of the study Dr Ehsan Shokri-Kojori, from the National Institutes of Health in Maryland, told the Daily Mail. Adding, "A reasonable prediction based on these results would be that poorer sleep habits create a risk for Alzheimer's disease."