Sleeping Posture Linked To Brain Disease

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Sleeping in the lateral, or side position, as compared to sleeping on your back or stomach, may more effectively remove brain waste and prove to be important in helping reduce the chances of developing neurological diseases such as Alzeimer’s and Parkinson’s, researchers at Stony Brook University have discovered.

In a paper titled “The Effect of Body Posture on Brain Glymphatic Transport”, Hedok Lee, PhD, Helene Benveniste, MD, PhD and colleagues used a series of MRI scans to examine the brain’s lymphatic pathway, a complex system that clears wastes and other harmful chemical solutions from the brain. The results of their research suggested that a lateral sleeping position tended to more efficiently remove waste from the brain.

Brain waste includes amyloid β (amyloid) and tau proteins, chemicals that negatively affect brain processes if they are allowed to build up and may contribute to the onset of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Interestingly, the researchers note in a press release that the lateral position is already the most popular among humans and other mammals.  “It appears that we have adapted the lateral sleep position to most efficiently clear our brain of the metabolic waste products that built up while we are awake,” said Dr. Maiken Nedergaard, a co-author of the research. “The study therefore adds further support to the concept that sleep subserves a distinct biological function … and that is to ‘clean up’ the mess that accumulates while we are awake. It is increasingly acknowledged that these sleep disturbances may accelerate memory loss in Alzheimer’s disease. Our finding brings new insight into this topic by showing it is also important what position you sleep in.”

But before you give up sleeping like Vincent Price you should know that the results, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, were achieved by examining sleeping rats. Dr. Benveniste cautioned that it was important to mimic the results in humans. 

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