These people increase their risk of dementia by not getting enough sleep

A new study has found new reasons why you should always be rested. Some associations have been found between lack of sleep and dementia, particularly in people between the ages of 50 and 60.

The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, tracked over 8,000 subjects from the UK starting when they were 50 years old. Those who slept less than six hours a night consistently were 30% more likely to develop dementia three decades later than subjects who slept more than seven hours continuously.

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The research team was able to adapt to behaviors and traits that could affect people’s sleep patterns and increase their risk of dementia, such as smoking, alcohol use, physical activity, and body mass index.

“It would be really unlikely that this sleep was a symptom of dementia nearly three decades ago, so this is a great study that provides strong evidence that sleep is really a risk factor,” Dr. Kristine Yaffe, a professor of neurology and psychiatry at the University of California, told the New York Times.

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One of the limitations of the study is that most of the data was self-reported, which does not allow for the most accurate results; The study did not differentiate between different types of dementia, and the majority of participants were white and better educated than the entire UK population.

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Sleep disorders correlate with several health conditions. While experts are ignorant of the relationship to dementia, several theories are floating around. The more people are awake, the more they make amyloid, a protein that has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease. It is also believed that during sleep, fluid flowing in the brain removes excess proteins, which means that if this process is interrupted, harmful proteins can build up and cause brain damage.

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While the study doesn’t answer all of the questions, experts believe that while they don’t have a completely clear picture, the results show a strong link between lack of sleep and dementia. Developing better sleep habits, a factor that is under our control and that we can work on, could lead to a preventative measure against dementia, a condition that has long been associated with genetics and mystery.