Lack of sleep is tied to increases in two Alzheimer’s proteins

It’s not just A-beta levels that rise in the sleep deprived; tau levels do too

tau neurons

TANGLED UP Tangles of tau protein (green) muck up a nerve cell from a patient with Alzheimer’s disease, as seen in this transmission electron micrograph.

Thomas Deerinck, NCMIR/Science Source

A sleep-deprived brain is awash in excess amounts of not one but two proteins whose bad behavior is implicated in Alzheimer’s disease.