Can cooling during sleep help protect against Alzheimer’s disease?

Sleep disturbances are among the earliest signs of Alzheimer’s disease, often appearing years before memory problems become apparent. But could the brain’s natural cooling during sleep also help protect against neurodegeneration? A newly funded research project by Branco Weiss Fellow Marieke Hoekstra together with Christina Schmidt will investigate this intriguing possibility at the University of Liège. Their project has been awarded €300,000 by the Belgian Foundation for Alzheimer Research to explore whether sleep-dependent cooling contributes to resilience against Alzheimer’s disease and could inspire future therapeutic strategies.

Body temperature follows a daily rhythm, dropping in the evening and reaching its lowest point during sleep. Experimental evidence suggests that this nocturnal cooling may activate protective mechanisms in the brain, while disrupted sleep can accelerate the accumulation of Alzheimer’s pathology. Yet the relationship between temperature regulation and disease progression remains poorly understood.

The project will examine how changes in body and brain temperature are linked to sleep quality, early biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline. By combining physiological measurements with biomarkers and clinical observations, the researchers hope to identify new opportunities for early intervention and prevention.