Getting less than five hours sleep a night can harm brain health and increase dementia risk, a new study has found.
New research published in the journal Aging found that not getting enough sleep doubled both Alzheimer’s risk and the risk of a premature death.
The study was based on 2,610 over-65s who completed sleep questionnaires as part of the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) in 2013 and 2014.
Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, looked at respondents’ answers to questions relating to sleep disturbance and deficiency. They examined how participants rated their alertness, frequency of naps, how long it took to fall asleep, snoring and sleep duration and quality.
Data was also collected for up to five years on patient outcomes like dementia and death from any cause. Where necessary, this information was sourced from carers.
Overall, experts found a strong link between sleep problems and dementia over time, Independent reported.
How long someone took to fall asleep was also linked to their dementia risk, with those who frequently took longer than 30 minutes facing a 45% higher risk of incident dementia.
Napping often, struggling to stay alert and poor sleep quality were also linked to a greater risk of death.
Previously, it was believed sleep problems in people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s were simply a symptom of the disease. But evidence is growing that sleep problems may have a role to play in the condition’s development.
