Sleep is an extremely important health-related factor that is often overlooked. Sleep deprivation is known to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and causes irritability, fatigue, and more. However, the risk of developing dementia is also related to sleep. In February 2018, the Journal of the Alzheimer's Association published an article exploring the relationship between sleep and dementia. The research was conducted in the United States, and the study was conducted over a time period of 15 years.
The way that sleep was measured was through polysomnography. Polysomnography is a type of sleep test that uses a device to measure different sleep stages through brain waves, heart rate, temperature, and more. Participants were also asked to describe their sleep patterns and duration to complement the tests. The following conclusions from the study were drawn:
It was found that severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) increased the risk of dementia from all causes. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a condition where the airway becomes completely or partially obstructed during sleep. This condition, characterized by snoring and episodes when the person appears to stop breathing, leads to short periods where there is no air intake, thus the body does not get oxygen. The reasoning behind this may be because OSA can cause cardiovascular problems such as hypertension and atherosclerosis. Hypertension (high blood pressure), and atherosclerosis (plaque build-up in arteries) can both cause dementia by restricting the blood flow to the brain.
Similar to OSA, sleep duration increased the risk of dementia. Specifically, sleeping less than 7 hours compared to 8-9 hours increased the risk of dementia. While the results of this study were intriguing, the authors of the study explain that more research is needed to further support the claims relating sleep duration and risk of dementia.
For more information on the study, visit: http://www.alzheimersanddementia.com/article/S1552-5260(17)32522-0/fulltext#sec2.1
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