It’s common knowledge that a good night’s sleep is as crucial to your well-being as a daily dose of kale. But now, we've got research backing up the claim that lousy z’s could see your memories checking out before you do. Yes, snooze fans, we’re talking about a potentially horrifying plot twist – Dementia!

New scientific revelations are hinting at a bone-chilling reality. Ever find yourself lying for an extended time with your eyes engaged in random movements, but no dreams serving as midnight entertainment? This – friends, readers, and night owls – could be a red flag for Alzheimer's disease.

Yue Leng, PhD, the brains behind this study and an academic badass from the University of California, reinforces that REM sleep (yeah, that stage where you dream about scoring a date with your celeb crush) is under the spotlight for its novelty act in the Alzheimer's saga.

It seems like REM sleep doesn’t just facilitate your wild dreams; it’s vital for processing emotional memories too. Unfortunately, a delay in getting to the REM stage can lead to memory consolidation disruption, thereby wreaking havoc on your learning process. The culprit may be an overproduction of cortisol, the stress hormone that’s about as welcome as a vegan at a barbecue. This meddlesome hormone can whack your hippocampus, a part of the brain responsible for memory consolidation.

Investigations in Beijing at the neurology unit of the China-Japan Friendship Hospital involved 128 adults averaging 70 years of age. Half of these participants were Alzheimer's patients, a third suffered from mild cognitive impairment, while the remaining were blessed with normal cognition. The study found that participants with Alzheimer's markers were more likely to have delayed REM sleep and higher levels of the noxious proteins, amyloid, and tau.

Hold onto your workout gear; the plot thickens. Those with delayed REM sleep also had a 39 percent decrease in a healthy protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which typically sees a drop in Alzheimer's patients.

But, here's the kicker: just because your dreams are making you wait doesn’t mean you're headed towards Alzheimer's City. This study was a controlled scenario inside a clinic, and while it contributes to understanding the risk factors of Alzheimer's, it’s not a concrete verdict.

Unfortunately, figuring out the timing of your REM sleep isn't as simple as counting sheep. Sure, wearable tech and EEG doodads can estimate this timing, but to nip dementia in the bud you‘ll need to practice excellent sleep hygiene. So here are a few parting tips from the Alzheimer's Association:

• Cash in on seven to eight hours of sleep every night, no excuses.
• No caffeinated drinks before bedtime, unless staring at the ceiling is your idea of fun.
• Ditch the alcohol several hours before hitting the sack.
• Keep your sleep environment as dark and cozy as a hipster's coffee shop.
• Use blue light filters on electronics post-sunset. Yes, this means saying goodnight to your phone.
• Talk to your health care provider about any perceived sleep problems or sneaky medications disrupting your REM sleep.

Bottom line: embrace good sleep hygiene and give your dreams a fighting chance – your memories (and your future self) will thank you.