Dementia Risk: Study Finds Middle Age Sleep Deprivation Linked To Degenerative Disease

A new study has found people who are in their 50s and 60s that don’t get enough sleep have an increased risk of developing dementia later in life.

The study, which was published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications, followed 8,000 people in Britain over 25 years starting at the age of 50.

Researchers investigated whether a change in sleep duration patterns was linked to dementia.

The study also explored if mental disorders in middle age impacted the link between dementia and sleep duration.

Researchers found those who sleep less than six hours per night had a higher risk of developing dementia compared to those who got seven hours of sleep or more.

Further results found that those who experienced consistent sleep deprivation between the ages of 50, 60, and 70 had a 30% increased risk of developing dementia.

“We find that short sleep duration in midlife is associated with the higher risk of dementia later in life, independently of sociodemographic, behavioural, cardiometabolic, and mental health factors,” the study read.

Although the findings of the study suggest that a lack of sleep for a middle-aged person could increase their risk of late-onset dementia, scientists believe the results are subjective.

Tom Dening, who was not a part of the research team and heads the Centre for Dementia at the Institute of Mental Health at the University of Nottingham, claimed the study doesn’t represent a definitive link between a lack of sleep and dementia.

“What’s the message for us all? Evidence of sleep disturbance can occur a long time before the onset of other clinical evidence of dementia,” he said.

“However, this study cannot establish cause and effect. Maybe it is simply a very early sign of the dementia that is to come, but it’s also quite likely that poor sleep is not good for the brain and leaves it vulnerable to neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s disease.”