The lead author of the study, dr. Rebecca Robbins of the Department of Sleep and Circadian Disorders in Brigham, said in a telephone interview that “sleep and health are really inextricably linked”, and that human sleep systems in their thirties and forties are maximal, but then begin to refuse.
Strategies for improving sleep, according to her, include avoiding sleep during the day so that sleep comes in one consolidated block at night; book beds for sleeping only, as opposed to other activities such as reading or watching television; and exposure to natural light during the day.
Limiting or avoiding caffeine, the ‘most used drug in the world’, is also helpful, Robbins said, as each dose gives each person five to six hours of energy. People who have trouble sleeping may want to replace caffeinated beverages with other beverages they enjoy, such as seltzer water.
Robbins and her team use data collected from older adults participating in the National Health and Aging Trends Study, which focuses on Medicare recipients age 65 and older. Survey data of participants have been collected every year since 2011.
According to the Brigham, 2,610 participants answered sleep questionnaires in 2013 and 2014, and researchers examined responses to sleep disorders and deficits, including responses on readiness, sleep frequency, how long it took people to fall asleep, sleep quality, sleep duration, and snoring. .
According to the statement, up to five years after the survey, they also collected information on the outcomes of patients such as dementia and death.
Overall, according to the statement, the research team found a strong link between sleep disorder and deficiency and dementia over time.
The statement said it regularly takes half an hour or longer to fall asleep, with a 45 percent greater chance of dementia.
And according to the statement, it usually carries an increased risk of death to be regularly awake, sleep regularly, report poor sleep quality and sleep five hours or less every night.
“This prospective study reveals that baseline sleep deprivation, when the mean age of participants was 76 years old, was associated with the dual risk of incident dementia and mortality from all causes over the next four to five years,” senior study- author Dr. Charles Czeisler, head of the division for sleep and circadian disorders in Brigham, said in the statement.
Czeisler said the “data contribute to the evidence that sleep is important for brain health and it highlights the need for further research on the effectiveness of improving sleep and treating sleep disorders on the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and mortality. “
In addition, the research team calls for additional analysis of the link between sleep and dementia and death.
“Our study shows that very short sleep times and poor quality sleep in the elderly increase the risk of developing dementia and earlier death,” said Dr. Stuart Quan, who also works in the sleep disorders department in Brigham, said. “There needs to be more focus on healthy sleep in older adults.”
Travis Andersen can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @TAGlobe.