Getting a good night’s sleep is essential for overall health, and for older adults, it might be even more critical.
A recent study suggests that maintaining deep sleep, also known as slow-wave sleep, could play a significant role in reducing the risk of dementia as we age.
The research, led by Associate Professor Matthew Pase from the Monash School of Psychological Sciences in Melbourne, Australia, highlights the importance of sleep in supporting brain health in later years.
The study involved 346 participants aged over 60 who were part of the Framingham Heart Study.
These individuals underwent two overnight sleep studies between 1995-1998 and 2001-2003, with an average of five years between the two assessments.
Researchers monitored the participants for dementia from the time of the second sleep study up to 2018.
The researchers discovered a concerning trend: as participants aged, the amount of deep sleep, or slow-wave sleep, declined. This decline in slow-wave sleep appeared to be associated with an increased risk of dementia.
Even after accounting for factors such as age, sex, genetics, smoking, medication use, and more, each percentage decrease in deep sleep per year was linked to a 27% rise in the risk of developing dementia.
The Role of Slow-Wave Sleep
Slow-wave sleep is known to benefit the aging brain in various ways. One crucial function it serves is facilitating the clearance of metabolic waste from the brain.
This includes helping remove proteins that can accumulate in Alzheimer’s disease. The study’s findings suggest that slow-wave sleep loss might be a modifiable risk factor for dementia.
What sets this study apart is its unique approach. The Framingham Heart Study is a community-based cohort that allowed researchers to conduct repeated overnight sleep studies and monitor participants for dementia over many years.
This extensive dataset enabled the examination of how slow-wave sleep changes with age and its potential association with dementia risk up to 17 years later.
Genetic Risk and Sleep
The study also explored whether genetic risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease or brain volume changes indicative of early neurodegeneration were related to declines in slow-wave sleep.
Surprisingly, genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease was associated with accelerated declines in slow-wave sleep, while brain volume did not show a similar connection.
Conclusion
The findings of this study emphasize the importance of maintaining deep sleep as we age, particularly for older adults at risk of dementia.
While further research is needed to fully understand the relationship between sleep and dementia, this study underscores the potential benefits of focusing on sleep quality as a means of reducing the risk of cognitive decline in later life.
If you care about dementia, please read studies that walking patterns may help identify specific types of dementia, and common high blood pressure drugs may help lower your dementia risk.
For more information about brain health, please see recent studies about this tooth disease linked to dementia, and results showing this MIND diet may protect your cognitive function, prevent dementia.
The research findings can be found in JAMA Neurology.
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