Does Sleeping Less Than 6 Hours Cause Dementia?!

Researchers suggest that a good night's sleep could be an effective way to help improve an aging brain.

A new study found sleep duration of six hours or less at night for those age 50 to 60 was associated with a 30% increased risk of late-onset dementia compared to consistent normal sleep of seven hours.

Participants revealed how many hours they slept on an average weeknight in surveys completed six times between 1985 and 2016. Their medical records were drawn from a previous study called Whitehall II, which began in the mid-1980s.

Accordingly, out of nearly 8,000 people, the researchers found 521 had been diagnosed with dementia at an average age of 77.

“We know that changes in sleep are commonly reported in inpiduals with dementia,” Claire Sexton, director of scientific programs and outreach at the Alzheimer’s Association, said.

“There has been a chicken and the egg debate about what comes first and whether impaired sleep is a consequence of having dementia or whether it can be a contributing factor to its development,” Sexton added.

Previous studies have underlined that long sleep duration may be associated with an increased risk of dementia. Nonetheless, there is no evidence to support that hypothesis.

In addition, Sexton speculates that the link between long sleep duration and dementia may be inconsistent, as fewer people sleep longer than an average of seven hours per night compared to those who sleep less than six hours.

Meantime, Kristine Wilckens, assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, noted that more studies are needed to understand the mechanism behind how sleep could impact dementia.

Experts have hypothesized from previous studies that sleep may help clear away the buildup of abnormal protein deposits characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease.

“Parts of the brain involved with sleep-wake regulation tend to have early neurodegeneration,” Wilckens said. “Proteins involved by Alzheimer’s disease are influenced by the sleep-wake cycle and clearance of those pathological proteins are greater during sleep.”