Rejoice! New science has uncovered yet another compelling reason to make quality sleep a sacred priority: superior memory.

Past studies have confirmed a clear link between poor sleep and the build-up of the toxic brain protein called amyloid, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s dementia. What’s more, deep sleep is known to be the period in our 24-hour day where our brains rid themselves of these damaging proteins.

With this in mind, University of California, Berkeley sleep scientists had 62 healthy older adults without dementia spend the night in the sleep lab where their sleep could be carefully monitored. Each subject also had PET (positron emission tomography) scans performed to measure how much amyloid was in their brains. Half the subjects had large levels of amyloid and half didn’t. After the night of sleep, each study subject completed memory tests.

The results: Study subjects who had high amounts of amyloid and good levels of deep sleep performed significantly better on the memory test than those with the same amount of amyloid who had less deep sleep. In the study, subjects without high amyloid levels, deep sleep made no difference in memory.

Matt Walker, the lead scientist, commented, “Think of deep sleep almost like a life raft that keeps memory afloat.”

Deep sleep is vital for improving memory, and detoxing, regenerating and healing tissues, especially in the brain. Here are the top things you can do to improve your deep sleep.

• Strive to maintain stable wake times day to day.
• Be sure to get a few minutes of morning light exposure each day without sunglasses.
• Avoid alcohol, especially in the 3 hours before sleep.
• Eat a lighter dinner and stop eating 3 hours before bedtime.
• Avoid bright lights after sundown, especially LED lights and the backlighting from computers and tablets.
• Take a warm bath or shower up to an hour before bed.
• Move as much as possible during the day.

Key take-home message: Get your deep sleep if you want to preserve your memory and cognitive function.

Dr. Ann Kulze is founder and CEO of Just Wellness and has a knack for breaking down the science of healthy eating and living into simple and easily digestible messages. She has been featured on “Dr. Oz,” “Oprah and Friends,” WebMD and U.S. News & World Report. Alabama News Center is publishing advice from Dr. Ann.