- Researchers estimate that every three seconds, someone in the world develops dementia.
- Inadequate sleep is a modifiable risk factor for dementia.
- A new study says as little as a 1% reduction in deep sleep each year for people over 60 years of age equals a 27% increased risk of developing dementia.
There are currently more than
As the number of people with dementia is expected to hit about
Many researchers believe inadequate sleep is a modifiable risk factor for dementia.
Now, a new study provides more proof by finding that as little as a 1% reduction in deep sleep — also called slow-wave sleep — each year for people over 60 years of age equals a 27% increased risk of developing dementia.
The findings were recently published in
For this study, researchers from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia examined data from 346 study participants over the age of 60 enrolled in the Framingham Heart Study. All of the chosen participants had completed two overnight sleep studies, with about five years between each sleep study.
Researchers reported that, on average, the amount of deep sleep each participant had declined between the two studies, indicating slow-wave sleep loss due to aging.
Scientists also followed the study participants from the time of their second sleep study until 2018, looking for dementia diagnoses.
“Responding to the rising prevalence of dementia is one of the most critical challenges of our time,” Dr. Matthew Pase, associate professor at the Monash School of Psychological Sciences and the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health in Melbourne, Australia, and senior author of this study told Medical News Today.
“Since we don’t have any…
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