Lack of enough deep sleep may increase risk of dementia, says new study

A new study at the Monash University in Melbourne, Australia revealed shocking data on the connection between deep sleep and the risk of dementia.

Data was collected from 346 participants over the age of 60 enrolled in the Framingham Heart Study. They were subjected to two overnight sleep studies, with a five-year gap between each sleep study.

The study claimed that as little as a 1% reduction in deep sleep each year for people over 60 years of age could lead to a 27% increased risk of developing dementia.

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Deep sleep and the risk of dementia

Lack of deep sleep can increase the risk of dementia (Image via Unsplash/Robina Weermeijer)

As per a publication in the journal Lancet, it's estimated that about 153 million people might be affected by dementia by the year 2050. Currently, lack of enough sleep is considered a modifiable risk factor for dementia. These factors can be managed easily to reduce the risk of developing the disease.

Author of the study, Dr. Matthew Pase, associate professor at the Monash School of Psychological Sciences and the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health in Melbourne, Australia, told Medical News Today in an interview:

“Responding to the rising prevalence of dementia is one of the most critical challenges of our time,”

He added:

“Since we don’t have any readily available curative treatments to halt or reverse dementia permanently, we were interested in understanding ways in which dementia can be prevented in the first instance,”

Furthermore, he also emphasized on the prevention of dementia:

“For the purpose of informing dementia prevention guidelines, we were interested in clarifying how sleep changed with aging and whether changes in sleep with aging were associated with dementia risk.”

The researchers found a total of 52 cases of dementia among the participants. Age, sex and sleeping medication use were considered while analyzing the data. The lack of deep sleep can increase the risk of dementia significantly.

Dr. Matthew Pase also said:

“We know that deep sleep is critical for an aging brain. It helps remove metabolic waste from the brain and also to consolidate memories. It also helps to protect against other dementia risk factors, like high blood pressure.

"Therefore, we were not surprised to see that greater declines in deep sleep were associated with a higher risk of dementia.”

A good quality sleep for around nine hours per day can be considered as deep sleep, but most people don't get adequate sleep.

During sleep, the body carries out various repair processes essential for better health. Deposition of a high amount of beta-amyloid in the brain is associated with Alzheimer's disease.

Dr. David Merrill, a geriatric psychiatrist and director of the Pacific Neuroscience Institute’s Pacific Brain Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, told Medical News Today:

“We know that age and genetics are non-modifiable risks, but the good news is that we are figuring out there are a number of ways to improve the modifiable risks, (of) which sleep quality is definitely one,”

He also gave a few tips:

“Things like lowering stress levels as we head towards bedtime, taking a warm shower or bath, sleeping in a colder room at a lower temperature — all these have been tied to possibly improving the quality of sleep during the night.

"We also know about things like avoiding screen time later in the afternoon and into the evening (and) filtering out blue light.”

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Indranil Biswas is a nutritionist and personal trainer with a diploma in dietetics and personal training with a specialization in sports nutrition and strength training.

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