This is the third study we’re sharing as part of NMN Week. One of the best things about NMN is that we’re still finding out new ways it can help our bodies. This week we’re sharing the newest, most exciting NMN developments with you.
Background
Sleep is one of the most important things to living a long, healthy life. We know that getting regular, quality sleep can add years to your lifespan.
REM (rapid eye movement) sleep is a stage of sleep that’s crucial for cognitive function, emotional regulation, and memory processing.
Missing REM sleep leaves you feeling groggy and unfocused.
Unfortunately, REM sleep declines with age. While young adults spend about 25% of their time asleep in REM, 80 year olds spend only 17%.
Some have argued that a drop in REM sleep can be linked to early death. Scientists wanted to study what caused this, and whether it could be reversed.
The Study
Researchers identified the particular type of brain cell (SO neurons) that is most active during REM.
They observed that older mice had less activity from these neurons and therefore less REM sleep, which in turn led to worse brain performance.
When they gave the older mice NMN, the SO neuron activity returned to the levels of younger mice, promoting healthy levels of REM sleep during ageing.
What this means for us
Many people who take DoNotAge.org Pure NMN report better sleep and less fatigue among the first benefits they feel.
This study has given further insight into the biology behind this benefit. The more we understand about a biological function, the better our response will be.
As such, this study brings us a step closer to improving sleep quality, one of the most important ingredients for a long, healthy life.
We’ll be sharing the next instalment of NMN Week tomorrow!
