Those who tend to have more disrupted sleep in their 30s-40s may face memory and cognitive problems later.
While the experiment doesn't prove that sleep quality directly causes cognitive decline, it shows an association between the two.
Let's find out more about it.
How it was tested
The study included 525 participants, averaging 40 years old, observed over 11 years.
The findings emphasize that the quality of sleep, not just the quantity, significantly influences cognitive health in middle age.
The participants, averaging six hours of sleep, utilized wrist activity monitors to track their sleep patterns and provided information about their bedtime, wake time, and sleep quality.
Almost half of the people claimed they had poor sleep.
During the study, memory and thinking tests were administered, including an evaluation of sleep fragmentation, which measures interruptions in sleep.
The results show that individuals with the most disrupted sleep had more than twice the likelihood of experiencing poor cognitive performance ten years later compared to those with the least disrupted sleep.
After adjustments for age, gender, race, and education, the association persisted.
More info needed
While the study suggests a link between sleep disturbances and midlife cognition, more info is necessary to explore this connection at various life stages and identify critical periods when sleep has a stronger impact on cognition.
The results suggest potential opportunities for preventing Alzheimer's disease later in life through targeted interventions.
Previously, we talked about the origins of sleep disorders.
