Memory Medicine

During deep sleep, your brains glymphatic system - a specialized waste-clearance pathway is highly active.

This process helps flush out toxins and metabolic waste, including amyloid plaque, a protein linked to Alzheimer’s disease.

Without enough restorative sleep, your brain struggles to clear these, highlighting just how important deep, quality sleep is for long-term brain health.

Antihistamines are widely used and often appropriate for allergy relief.

This study was observational, meaning it found an association, not proof of cause and effect.

Higher cumulative use of H1 antihistamines (sedating) types, was linked to a greater risk of dementia.

One proposed reason is their anticholinergic effect. Some H1 antihistamines cross the blood–brain barrier and block acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter important for memory.

This is just one potential risk factor among many. Dementia risk is complex and multifactorial and risk factors should be looked at in the context of each individual

Supporting immune balance and histamine response through nutrition, gut health, reducing inflammation and other natural means may help reduce reliance on frequent antihistamine use

These are the type of things functional medicine investigates when it comes to protecting the brain!