Not getting enough sleep can make it difficult to function the next day. Still, many of us are not snoozing for the recommended seven hours a night. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in three adults are getting less than that.
That feeling of grogginess you have after not catching enough sleep, is just the icebergs tip. In fact, there are other long-term effects skimping on sleep can have on you later in life. A study of 8,000 adults followed for 25 years found that not getting a certain number of hours of sleep was deadly. Chiefly, it affects your brain health, making you much more prone to dementia. So, how much sleep is the real bare minimum?
The risk of dementia.
Nature Communications found that sleeping six hours a night or less a night was linked to an increased risk of dementia in people between 50 and 60 years old.
More data from a long-term study by University College London, which followed 7,959 British individuals between 1985 and 2016 was released. They compared the health of adults who didn’t get enough sleep to people who slept the recommended seven hours.
Seven is the best number
Overall, 521 participants developed dementia over the course of the study. Also, the patients were an average of 77 years old when diagnosed. Participants who slept at least seven hours a night had the fewest cases of dementia. There was a 30 percent increase in dementia risk in those who consistently slept a maximum of six hours a night in their 50s and 60s.
Many of us have experienced a bad night’s sleep and know that it can have an impact on our memory and thinking in the short term. An intriguing question is whether long-term sleep patterns can affect our risk of dementia. We know that the diseases that cause dementia start up to two decades before symptoms like memory loss start to show. So midlife is a crucial time for research into risk factors.
Getting less than five hours of sleep could double your risk of developing dementia.
Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Boston College found that even less sleep means an even greater dementia risk. The study was done on people 65 and older who were eligible for Medicare. The researchers compared 2,810 seniors who got poor sleep to those who slept an average of seven to eight hours a night over the course of five years. They found that people over 65 who reported sleeping less than five hours per night appeared to be twice as likely to develop dementia.
“Sleep deficiency at baseline was associated with double the risk of dementia and all-cause mortality over the next 4 to 5 years.” So stated Charles Czeisler, MD, a senior author of the study and chief of the Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders. Further saying, “These data add to the evidence that sleep is important for brain health and highlight the need for further research.”
People with dementia are often affected by sleep disorders, but the cause and effect is unclear.
Alzheimer’s research says one issue, it cannot tease apart cause and effect. While it suggests that persistent lower sleep duration was linked with an increased risk of dementia, it did not find an association between longer than average sleep duration and dementia risk.
“We know that changes in sleep are commonly reported in individuals with dementia,” Claire Sexton DPhil stated. She is director of Scientific Programs. Telling USA Today. “There has been a chicken and the egg debate about what comes first and whether impaired sleep is a consequence of having dementia. Or perhaps whether it can be a contributing factor to its development.”
According to Sleep Foundation, people with dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease frequently experience restless legs syndrome. In addition, periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD), as well as sleep apnea and depression can occur. Certainly, all of which can affect sleep and cognitive decline.
Three stages of sleep
There are three stages of sleep. First comes light sleep, then deep sleep, called slow-wave sleep. Finally, dream sleep, called REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Slow-wave sleep and REM sleep are critical parts of how sleep works to restore the body and mind. People with dementia spend less time in slow-wave sleep and REM sleep and more time in the earlier stages of sleep.
There are other things you can do to reduce your dementia risk.
There are a few other things that can help stave off cognitive decline in addition to sleep. While there is no sure-fire way to prevent dementia, there are things within our control that can reduce our risk. The best evidence suggests that not smoking and only drinking in moderation. Staying mentally and physically active and eating a balanced diet is also important. In addition, keep cholesterol and blood pressure levels in check to keep our brains healthy as we age.
Article by Danielle Cinone for BestLife
If You Sleep This Much, Your Dementia Risk Is High – TUTORING YOU
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Thank you very much sir for sharing this article.It’s very helpful especially during the pandemic.Take care.🌹🙏