. It also helps keep the brain healthy by removing waste products.
As we get older, there are changes in sleep patterns, including difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep, and decreased quantity and quality of sleep. It is thought that these sleep disturbances may contribute to cognitive decline and psychiatric disorders in the aging population.
Does Growing Old Affect Sleep?
In research published in Nature Aging, scientists from the UK and China examined data from nearly 500,000 adults aged 38-73 years from the UK Biobank.
Participants were asked about their sleeping patterns, mental health, and well-being, and took part in a series of cognitive tests. Brain imaging and genetic data were available for almost 40,000 of the study participants.
By analyzing these data, they found that both insufficient and excessive sleep duration was associated with impaired cognitive performance, such as processing speed, visual attention, memory, and problem-solving skills.
People experienced more symptoms of anxiety and depression and worse overall well-being if they reported sleeping less or more than seven hours.
Researchers say one possible reason for the association between insufficient sleep and cognitive decline may be due to the disruption of slow-wave – ‘deep’ – sleep.
Disruption to this type of sleep has been shown to have a close link with memory consolidation as well as the build-up of amyloid – a key protein seen in dementia. Additionally, lack of sleep may hamper the brain’s ability to rid itself of toxins.
They also found a link between the amount of sleep and differences in the structure of brain regions involved in cognitive processing and memory, again with greater changes associated with greater than or less than seven hours of sleep.
Sleep Is The Best Medicine
Professor Jianfeng Feng from Fudan University in China said: “While we can’t say conclusively that too little or too much sleep causes cognitive problems, our analysis looking at individuals over a long time appears to support this idea“.
These findings suggest that insufficient or excessive sleep duration may be a risk factor for cognitive decline in aging . This is also supported by previous studies that have reported a link between sleep duration and the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, in which cognitive decline is a hallmark symptom.
Getting a good night’s sleep is important at all stages of life, particularly as we age. Finding ways to improve sleep for older people could help them maintain good mental health and well-being and avoid cognitive decline, particularly for patients with psychiatric disorders and dementia.
Source: Medindia
