Adult adults who sleep six hours or less are at increased risk for dementia compared to those who regularly lock up for seven hours, according to a large-scale 25-year study.
According to the results, persistent short sleep among adults aged 50, 60 and 70 was linked to a greater dementia risk of 30%, which persisted after taking into account factors such as mental health, socio-demographics and cardiometabolic condition.
“Persistent short duration of sleep was associated with an increased risk of dementia compared to those with persistent normal sleep duration,” the study authors wrote.
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A team of French researchers published findings in the Nature Communications journal on Tuesday as a result of a Whitehall II study involving nearly 8,000 British participants. Dementia is a broad term for neurodegenerative diseases that affect memory, attention and communication, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, which estimates that 5 million adults aged 65 and older lived with dementia in 2014. to almost 14 million by 2060.
The risk of dementia increases significantly with older ages, especially under 65s, says the CDC, although other risk factors include family history and race / ethnicity.
To reach their conclusions, researchers performed repetitive measurements over the sleep duration of 7,959 participants over a 25-year period, collecting self-reported data but also information from the accelerometers of the wristwatch, and 521 participants developed the disease. .
Evidence has suggested that sleep supports cognitive performance and removes toxic beta-amyloid protein plaques from the brain, thus leading to sleep deprivation leading to a “detrimental effect,” the study’s authors noted. Amyloid plaques can disrupt nerve cells in the brain in Alzheimer’s disease, which is explained by the vast majority of cases of dementia.
“Amyloid plaque buildup contributes to poor sleep in older adults through its direct impact on brain regions of sleep wake regulators,” authors wrote.
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However, sleep problems are sometimes an early sign of dementia. Dr Séverine Sabia, corresponding study author at the University of Paris, ceases to establish a causal link between sleep duration and dementia risk.
“These findings suggest that sleep deprivation may be a risk factor for dementia in later life,” Sabia said. “I can not tell you that sleep deprivation is a cause of dementia, but it can contribute to its development.”
The corresponding author did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.