While getting good sleep is always the best, there are times when it simply isn’t possible. But the “foggy” effect it creates in our thinking make the following day difficult, to say the least.

Fortunately, research with a combination of grape seed polyphenols, Concord grape juice, and resveratrol found that the nutrients boosted a protein that helps brain signals overcome a deficit of rest.

Abstract:

Zhao W, Wang J, Bi W, et al. Novel application of brain-targeting polyphenol compounds in sleep deprivation-induced cognitive dysfunction. eurochem Int. 2015 Oct;89:191-7.

Sleep deprivation produces deficits in hippocampal synaptic plasticity and hippocampal-dependent memory storage. Recent evidence suggests that sleep deprivation disrupts memory consolidation through multiple mechanisms, including the down-regulation of the cAMP-response element-binding protein (CREB) and of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling. In this study, we tested the effects of a Bioactive Dietary Polyphenol Preparation (BDPP), comprised of grape seed polyphenol extract, Concord grape juice, and resveratrol, on the attenuation of sleep deprivation-induced cognitive impairment. We found that BDPP significantly improves sleep deprivation-induced contextual memory deficits, possibly through the activation of CREB and mTOR signaling pathways. We also identified brain-available polyphenol metabolites from BDPP, among which quercetin-3-O-glucuronide activates CREB signaling and malvidin-3-O-glucoside activates mTOR signaling. In combination, quercetin and malvidin-glucoside significantly attenuated sleep deprivation-induced cognitive impairment in -a mouse model of acute sleep deprivation. Our data suggests the feasibility of using select brain-targeting polyphenol compounds derived from BDPP as potential therapeutic agents in promoting resilience against sleep deprivation-induced cognitive dysfunction.

[Link to complete study: Novel application of brain-targeting polyphenol compounds in sleep deprivation-induced cognitive dysfunction