Lack of sleep in middle age linked to dementia risk

People who sleep six hours or less each night in their 50s and 60s appear to be more likely to develop dementia later in life, according to a new study led by UCL and INSERM researchers. Those who persistently slept six hours or less per night were roughly 30% more likely to develop dementia, compared to those with normal sleep duration, according to the findings published. Lead author Dr Séverine Sabia (UCL Epidemiology & Public Health and INSERM) said: "Sleep problems are known to occur in people with dementia, but it remains unclear whether sleep duration in midlife affects the risk of developing dementia at older ages. Here, by using a very long follow-up period, we have found that short duration sleep in midlife, assessed more than 25 years before mean age at dementia onset, is associated with dementia risk in late life. "While we cannot confirm that not sleeping enough actually increases the risk of dementia, there are plenty of reasons why a good night's sleep might be good for brain health. These findings confirm the importance of sleep hygiene for health." There has been growing evidence to suggest sleep patterns before dementia onset may contribute to the disease. Insufficient time spent sleeping is linked to dementia risk in adults aged 65 and older, but this may be due to very early changes linked to dementia progression, and it was previously unclear whether the association was also true for younger age groups.