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* Dementia affects about 850,000 people in the UK * Your sleep position could impact your dementia risk * Sleeping on your side could help to prevent Alzheimer's disease * Sideways

sleeping helps the brain to get rid of harmful chemicals Making some small lifestyle changes could lower your risk of dementia in later life. You could slash your risk of a neurodegenerative

condition by sleeping on your side, a nutritionist has revealed. Sleeping on your side helps the brain to get rid of harmful substances, said Dr Josh Axe. The brain’s clear-out system works

best when people lie on their side, as opposed to on the front or back, he said. The system - also known as the brain’s lymphatic pathway - is responsible for getting rid of chemicals that

may cause dementia. These chemicals include amyloid and tau proteins, or any other chemicals that could disrupt the brain’s processes. Sleeping on your side could also lower your risk of

other neurological diseases, like Parkinson’s disease, he said. “Most people — and wild animals — sleep on their sides,” said Axe. “Now, we may better understand the brain-friendly reason 

this is the case. “In 2015, researchers found that sleeping on your side could improve one of the brain’s waste-clearing processes, lowering the risk for neurological diseases like

Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. “Similar to the how the body’s lymphatic system clears waste from organs, the glymphatic pathway is responsible for filtering cerebrospinal fluid through the

brain and exchanging it with interstitial fluid to clear waste like amyloid β [amyloid] and tau proteins, chemicals that negatively affect brain processes if they build up. “The Journal of

Neuroscience study found that the brain’s glymphatic pathway, a complex system that clears wastes and other harmful chemicals from the brain, worked most optimally when people slept on their

sides, as opposed to belly or back sleepers.” Dementia affects about 850,000 people in the UK, according to the NHS. It’s the name given to a group of symptoms linked to an ongoing decline

in brain function. Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia are the most common types of dementia in the UK. Alzheimer’s disease symptoms can include misplacing everyday items, difficulty

making decisions, or forgetting the name of places or objects. As the condition develops, it can lead to difficulty swallowing, incontinence, and significant memory loss. People could lower

their risk of Alzheimer’s disease by maintaining a strong social circle, or by regularly exercising, said the NHS. Cardiovascular disease has also been linked to some types of dementia.

Avoid smoking, eating an unhealthy diet, or leading a sedentary lifestyle to lower your chances of both cardiovascular disease and dementia. Speak to a GP if you’re worried that you, or

someone you know, has dementia.