Extra sleep may help improve the memories of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. In a study involving fruit flies, researchers found that extra sleep — the equivalent of three-to-four hours of sleep for humans — restored the ability of flies with Alzheimer’s-like symptoms to make new memories. Though more studies are needed, this finding could one day offer a new path of treatment for patients with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.
Current Biology, April 2015