People who regularly sleep for six hours or less each night in middle age are more likely to develop dementia than those who routinely manage seven hours, a major study into the disease showed.
Researchers found a 30 percent greater risk of dementia in those who during their 50s, 60s and 70s consistently had a short night’s sleep, regardless of other risk factors, such as heart and metabolic conditions, and poor mental health.
The study does not prove that sleeping too little causes dementia, since sleep loss itself might be one of the earliest symptoms of the disease.
However, some scientists believe the results bolster evidence that persistent poor sleep might at least contribute to the neurodegenerative disease.
TOXIC WASTE
Researchers do not know whether improving sleep can reduce the risk of dementia, but sleep is known to clear toxic waste from the brain.
One hypothesis is that when people sleep less, this process becomes impaired.
“These findings suggest that sleep duration might be a risk factor for dementia in later life,” said Severine Sabia, an author of the study at the University of Paris. “I cannot tell you that sleep duration is a cause of dementia, but it may contribute to its development.”
Sabia and her colleagues analyzed survey data from University College London’s Whitehall II study, which launched in 1985, and followed the health and lifestyles of more than 10,000 British volunteers.
The French team focused on nearly 8,000 participants who self-reported their sleep patterns, although some wore watch-like devices to confirm how long they slept.
During 25 years of follow-up, 521 participants developed dementia, with most diagnosed in their late 70s.
Writing in Nature Communications, the scientists described how those who routinely got six hours of sleep or less each night in their 50s and 60s were 30 percent more likely to develop dementia than those who typically managed seven hours.
The findings came after an international team on Monday reported that severely disrupted sleep could nearly double women’s risk of dying from heart disease, when compared with the general female population.
MEN AT GREATER RISK
The study, in the European Heart Journal, found the risk for men increased by about one quarter.
Body mass index and sleep apnea, which disrupted breathing, both contributed to “unconscious wakefulness,” while disrupting the body’s natural circadian rhythms could drive the buildup of fat in arteries that could lead to cardiovascular problems.
While smoking, heavy drinking and obesity are risk factors for dementia, the chances of developing the disease rise steeply with age.
“It strengthens the evidence that poor sleep in middle age could cause or worsen dementia in later life,” said Liz Coulthard, a consultant senior lecturer in dementia neurology at Bristol University , who was not involved in the study.
“It makes sense to take measures to improve sleep, such as going outside during daylight hours to help maintain the natural rhythms that promote good sleep, avoiding excess alcohol or caffeine, particularly before bed, and finding a bedtime routine that works for you,” she said.
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