r/science • u/Wagamaga • Oct 08 '24

Neuroscience Brain’s waste-clearance pathways revealed for the first time. Wastes include proteins such as amyloid and tau, which have been shown to form clumps and tangles in brain images of patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

https://news.ohsu.edu/2024/10/07/brains-waste-clearance-pathways-revealed-for-the-first-time
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u/redditshy Oct 08 '24 edited Oct 08 '24

My grandfather died from amyloidosis. He worked many many hours of his life, and got little sleep. My aunt died of lewy body dementia. She worked overnights as a nurse her whole adult life. My friend is in late stage dementia at age 55; she had a lifetime of partying, and not getting clean sleep.

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u/ghanima Oct 08 '24

Sleep is definitely essential to the brain's waste cleaning process, so poor sleep is almost certainly a factor in the development of dementia/Alzheimer's, but it's not the only one.

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u/Plow_King Oct 08 '24

i've rarely had a problem sleeping well. i used to lay awake and stress about things sometimes, but i mastered how to avoid that and sleep like a baby most nights. and very vivid, wacky, dreams i can remember. i've never developed the skill to lucid dream though, dang it! but i do loves my sleep.

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u/reelznfeelz Oct 08 '24

I was taking like maybe 1mg thc before bed pretty regularly and just took a break last week. Maybe coincidence but I’ve been having wild vivid dreams ever since. And feel a little less tired. It was a very small dose but maybe I’m personally better off without THC. Which kind of bugs me because it’s pretty safe and not something you get a true addiction to like opiates. But I guess it just isn’t my thing? Higher doses I really don’t care for. I just get wicked stoned and anxious.

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u/Darkskynet Oct 08 '24

Vivid and wild dreams are a known side effect of cessation of THC.

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u/Unchained-Atom Oct 08 '24

I used to take thc before bed too for a while, it helped me get to sleep better than anything, but I think my sleep wasn’t as good in the long run while I was on it. I also used to wear an oura ring and, especially with bigger doses, it would raise my body temperature and cause some abnormal metrics. Definitely verify this, but I also read some things about how thc can interfere with memory and interrupt some of those memory processes that happen when you sleep, so I ended up cutting back on it. Although it’s harder to get to sleep, I think the quality is better.

I have the same experience with intense dreams after though. Happens anytime I’ve done it consistently, for at least a few days and then stop. Usually dies down after about a week or so after I stop.