Researchers having been able to find patterns in how we sleep that could point to early signs of dementia or Parkinson’s disease.

There are some obvious signs that your loved one could be showing early signs of dementia, which affects almost seven million people in the US.

The common signs include being unable to learn new tasks, struggling to stay focussed, finding it hard to contribute in conversations, mistaking things for other objects and/or getting unusually emotional or afraid. But scientists have been able to link a certain sleep disorder as a sign these progressive neurological conditions could be taking hold in almost ‘all cases’, experts have said.

A certain sleep condition could be a sign of dementia (Getty Images)

A complicated sleep condition

The problem is, the unique sleep disorder is extremely difficult to diagnose.

Medical professionals could easily confuse it with another condition or sufferers might not even be aware that they’re doing it in the first place. After all, you are asleep when it happens.

What are the tell-tale signs?

The research reveals people who have ‘abnormal movements’, such as talking, shouting, laughing, swearing, moving and thrashing about while in their sleep, could have REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD).

And the most obvious sign of RBD is ‘acting out’ dreams, which means physically moving or talking while asleep.

In some cases, thrashing while asleep can be so vigorous that RBD patients could hurt themselves or their partners. They might also wake up feeling groggy the next morning and could be more susceptible to falling asleep throughout the day.

The condition affects more than one million people in the US and around 80 million people worldwide and, according to Mount Sinai scientists, is an early sign of Parkinson’s disease or dementia ‘in nearly all cases’.

Dementia affects almost seven million people in the US (Getty Images)

The link between RBD and dementia

Researchers have drawn the link because those who have RBD have an increased inflammation in the brain where dopamine is produced. Parkinson’s and dementia patients also have a diminished supply of the chemical because the nerve cells that produce it have died.

In a bid to catch the conditions early, US scientists have turned to the help of artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse clinical sleep tests and improve diagnoses of RBD, as well as identify the patients at higher risk of losing cognitive function.

The team replicated and expanded the use of automated machine learning analysis of movements during sleep based on prior research carried out by the Medical University of Innsbruck in Austria. They used a video-polysomnogram, a type of sleep-monitoring technology, to determine an RBD diagnosis which researchers said had an accuracy rate of 92 percent.

Dr Emmanuel During, an associate professor of neurology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, said: “This automated approach could be integrated into clinical workflow during the interpretation of sleep tests to enhance and facilitate diagnosis, and avoid missed diagnoses.

“This method could also be used to inform treatment decisions based on the severity of movements displayed during the sleep tests and, ultimately, help doctors personalize care plans for individual patients.”

Coffee drinkers swear by its many health benefits but according to some theories, they might have been drinking the beverage wrong their whole lives.

Now, I don’t mean they should be snorting their coffee beans or something equally weird but according to some ideas, there are health benefits to be had by consuming it in a specific way.

And by a specific way, I mean at what time you choose to take your first sip.

If you have ever been in an office, you’ll likely know some of your coworkers band together by the machine on their first break trying to get their first fix, while others stroll in with their perfect order from Pret.

But PHD, dietitian and exercise physiologist specializing in disease management and prevention, Natalie Olsen, has highlighted one theory surrounding the magical ground beans.

There are a lot of claims about when is the best time to drink coffee (Getty Stock Image)

Writing in a Healthline article, she noted that there is some thinking that drinking coffee ‘too soon after rising decreases its energizing effects’.

This is all down to the hormone your body releases, cortisol. The stress hormone can enhance alertness and focus while also regulating your metabolism, immune system response, and blood pressure.

Olsen stated: “The hormone follows a rhythm specific to your sleep-wake cycle, with high levels that peak 30–45 minutes after rising and slowly decline throughout the rest of the day.

“That said, it has been suggested that the best time to drink coffee is mid- to late-morning when your cortisol level is lower.

“For most people who get up around 6:30 a.m., this time is between 9:30 and 11:30 a.m.”

So, you chugging down the caffeine at your earliest convenience might not be doing as much for your alertness as it could be.

However, it is also worth noting that Olsen did state that there have been no studies to date that ‘have observed any superior energizing effects with delaying your morning coffee, compared with drinking it immediately upon rising.’

Optimizing when you drink coffee could improve your alertness (Getty Stock Image)

So, I suppose you can do as you please. But it might be worth testing it out yourself to see if you feel any difference.

While you try and figure out when is the best time for you to have your morning brew, it might also be worth considering dropping the habit altogether.

According to some studies, while the short-term impacts of cutting out coffee can be rather grueling, the long-term impacts are quite beneficial.

In time, you’ll find your anxiety levels are lowered. This is because the less caffeine you consume, the less you’re triggering the body’s fight or flight response, the website claims.

As your body becomes less dependent on caffeine, you’ll be able to enjoy a better quality of sleep too.

People may be more open to taking risks after their bodies have been dulled to pain, according to new research.

Thanks to modern medicine, many of us have access to fast-acting pain relief, which can be an absolute lifesaver when dealing with just about all ailments.

From an annoying tooth ache to a sprained ankle, being able to dull the pain can be great in the short term.

However, scientists believe that this dulling of pain can have a similar effect on emotions and decision-making.

Psychologists from the University of Guelph in Canada conducted a study and found paracetamol reduces the heart rate, an indication of fear, during an dangerous experience.

Paracetmol might also be impacting a person’s relationship with danger (Getty Stock Image)

Researchers said: “This could have important implications for safety: if individuals on paracetamol behave less cautiously in threatening situations, they might be more likely to speed or make other unsafe choices while driving.

“It may be the drug operates by blunting emotional evaluations of painful sensations.

“At the same time, the same mechanism may dull other emotions, including fear.”

For the experiment, the scientists took around 260 men and women and gave them either 1,000 mg of the drug or placebo before taking part in a frightening virtual reality plank walk at extreme heights.

Falling off the plank led to an 80-storey fall from a skyscraper roof. The goal was to walk along the plank as far as possible before returning.

The plank became progressively more unsteady the further the people walked. If they fell, they hit the ground with a flash of white light.

So while the participants aren’t in any actual danger, it is still a somewhat fearful situation to find yourself in.

The experiment showed significant differences in those that took the drug and those that took the placebo (Getty Stock Image)

Significant differences were found between the two groups. Those on acetaminophen or paracetamol took 17 per cent less time to step onto the plank for the first time, walked 23 per cent faster when they were on it, and had a 14 per cent lower increase in heart rate, compared to those on placebo.

Unfortunately, the drug’s precise mechanisms of action to reduce pain are still not fully understood meaning more research is necessary.

But the researchers are confident that pain has both a sensory and emotional component meaning the emotional element has a significant impact on how we perceive pain. In some instances, those that have had certain regions of their brain damaged their attitude towards pain has shifted, even if they can feel it.

China has approved a $137,000,000,000 project to build the most powerful hydro dam – but the move has left people concerned.

Human rights activists and environmentalists are worried construction of the world’s biggest mega project could have some serious consequences – especially as it’s being built on an ‘earthquake zone’.

Plans for the dam were first drawn up in 2020, almost 15 years after the current biggest dam – the Three Gorges in central China – was built.

Situated on the Yangtze River, Three Gorges is reported to generate 0.54 Twh electricity a day and can handle inflows of around 98.8m litres per second.

The Three Gorges Dam in central China (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

What is the new project?

The new dam will be located in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River and could generate three times more electricity than that.

According to a 2020 estimate by Power Construction Corp of China, the new hydro dam could produce 300 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually.

Chinese state media says the project is a ‘safe project prioritising ecological protection, as per the BBC.

Despite its hefty financial cost, the dam will contribute to Beijing’s ‘climate neutrality goals’.

Construction will take place at the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet, China (Photo by Li Lin/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)

Why are experts so concerned?

There are a number of issues plaguing the expensive Yarlung Zangbo dam project.

The feat may require at least four 20 km-long tunnels to be drilled through the Namcha Barwa mountain, meaning the flow of the Tibetan river will be diverted.

For neighboring India – and Bangladesh, which the river also passes through – this could spell trouble, as interference with the water flow could trigger flash foods or even see the country face droughts.

Experts also feared that the dam would ‘empower China to control or divert the flow’ of the Yarlung Tsangpo River, which measures 1,125km in length.

A 2020 report published by the Lowy Institute said that ‘control over these rivers [in the Tibetan Plateau] effectively gives China a chokehold on India’s economy’.

The dam is also set to be located along a tectonic plate boundary prone to earthquakes. Researchers are worried drilling into the Namcha Barwa mountain and the continued construction of the dam may also increase the frequency of landslides.

Finally, the construction of the dam could displace locals, although it’s not known how many people the project would be forced to relocate.

However, Chinese authorities have stressed that the project would not have a major environmental impact.

Should construction go ahead, the dam is set to take 35 years to complete – that’s not until 2060.