ODD Solution Relieves Alzheimer's Linked Agitation

By Dr. Scott Olson, ND Posted September 27, 2023

When someone you love is battling Alzheimer’s, it’s heartbreaking.

You want to do everything possible to ensure they live the happiest and most fulfilled life possible.

And yet, all too often, you’re left feeling helpless in the face of overwhelming symptoms that threaten to destroy their quality of life.

One of the MOST disturbing for Alzheimer’s patients and caregivers alike is “sundowner’s syndrome.”

This combination of trouble sleeping and worsening mental function at night leads to increased confusion, anxiety, agitation, pacing, and disorientation.

But scientists say a downright ODD solution could be the key to overcoming this distressing syndrome.

And even MORE incredible, it could have just flipped our entire understanding of this major Alzheimer’s sign on its head.

Sundowner’s syndrome is common in people with Alzheimer’s. In fact, almost 80 percent of patients experience its symptoms regularly.

The syndrome’s hallmark signs… trouble sleeping and worsening mental function… fall under the umbrella of circadian dysfunction.

Your circadian rhythm is the internal clock that governs your normal wake/sleep cycle. It can get knocked out of whack for various reasons, such as traveling through multiple time zones.

In Alzheimer’s, neuron degeneration, insulin dysregulation, inflammation, and oxidative stress (among other things) can contribute to a malfunctioning circadian rhythm.

But new research published in the journal Cell Metabolism reveals a way to essentially reboot the system in Alzheimer’s patients, potentially relieving them of some of their worst Sundowner’s symptoms.

You’ve probably heard of intermittent fasting before.

It’s sometimes called time-restricted eating, and it’s a lifestyle in which you confine all of your meals to a specific window of time and fast for the rest of the day (most often 16 hours of fasting and eight of eating).

Past research proved that intermittent fasting can help folks reset their circadian rhythm. So, for the new study, researchers theorized that it might help with the circadian dysfunction we see with Alzheimer’s.

The researchers used mice to test their theory. And, incredibly, intermittent fasting not only helped, but the results could turn everything we understand about the relationship between neurodegeneration and circadian disruptions upside down.

The critters not only had improvements in memory, but they ALSO had a reduction in amyloid plaques in the brain. In other words, we may have had it BACKWARDS this entire time.

We’ve assumed that brain changes (including plaque buildup) led to changes in circadian rhythms. What if it was the other way around? What if changes in circadian rhythms led to changes in the brain?

More research is needed, of course. But it’s an exciting possibility. And with a simple and safe intervention like intermittent fasting, there’s ZERO downside.

Prior studies confirm time-restricted eating helps with various other conditions, including obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

We now may be able to add Alzheimer’s prevention… and potentially symptom relief… to its already impressive resume.

If you want to try intermittent fasting, restrict all eating to an eight-hour window daily. And the good news is you (or your loved one) get to pick which eight hours work best for you. Some folks find that they need to eat in the morning, while others prefer to wait until later in the day to have their first meal.

If you’re naturally a “grazer” who eats all day, you might find it easier to start by cutting back a few hours at a time. Slowly reducing your eating window to eight hours will make the transition easier.

P.S. When is it TOO late to prevent Alzheimer’s? CLICK HERE for the answer.

Source:

“Circadian modulation by time-restricted feeding rescues brain pathology and improves memory in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease,” Cell Metabolism, 2023, ISSN 1550-4131, doi. org/10.1016/j.cmet.2023.07.014.

Written By Dr. Scott Olson, ND

Nearly 25 years ago, failed mainstream medical treatments left Dr. Olson in constant pain – and his health in ruins. And that’s when he did something REVOLUTIONARY. He began his career in medicine – and dedicated his life to uncovering the true, underlying causes of disease.
Through his innovative medical practices in Tennessee and Colorado, Dr. Olson has helped cure countless seniors from across America of arthritis… heart disease… diabetes… and even cancer. All without risky prescription drugs or painful surgeries.

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