In the quiet architecture of a night's sleep, researchers at the University of Liège have found what may be an early whisper of Alzheimer's disease. A study of more than 500 healthy adults revealed that middle-aged people who experience frequent micro-awakenings — fleeting, nearly imperceptible interruptions to sleep — tend to carry higher genetic risk for the disease, suggesting the body may signal its vulnerabilities long before the mind shows any sign of faltering. The locus coeruleus, a brainstem structure no larger than a grain of rice and among the first regions touched by Alzheimer's pa