Irregular Sleep Patterns May Increase Risk of Dementia [Study]

Getting enough sleep may not be enough to keep your brain healthy. According to experts, aside from being well-rested, you have to maintain a regular sleep pattern to reduce your risk of dementia.

Regular Sleeping Patterns and Dementia

According to a new study, the regularity of sleep plays an important role in dementia. Researchers noticed that irregular sleeping patterns may increase one's risk of dementia.

Matthew Pase, an Australian professor and dementia researcher at Monash University, is the study's author. He claims that sleep is "multifaceted" and is connected to various dementia causes. Our ability to retain brain connections and consolidate memories depends on getting enough sleep. He emphasized that we can better recall information after a restful night's sleep. In addition, rest has a similar role to a garbage truck in the brain, helping remove metabolic waste that builds up during the day.

However, he noticed that when it comes to sleep, health recommendations focus on getting the recommended hours, which is seven to nine. There was less emphasis on maintaining a regular sleeping schedule, which they found in their study to be very important.

To look at how sleep patterns affect the likelihood of dementia, Pase and his colleagues studied 88,094 people who were 62 years old on average. Over seven days, participants were instructed to wear a device to track their sleep cycle. After that, participants were followed for a mean of seven years. 480 people had dementia at that time.

According to Pase, sleep regularity is the consistency or regularity of sleep-wake rhythms daily. The chance of being in the same state (awake or asleep) at any two specific times, separated by 24 hours and averaged over a week, was used to create the sleep regularity index.

An individual who consistently goes to bed and wakes up at the same times each day would receive a score of 100, whereas someone who varies their sleep and wake-up hours would receive a score of 0. Individuals with inconsistent sleep patterns scored lower than the sample average of 60.

The risk of dementia development was considerably higher in individuals with extremely irregular sleep habits compared to those with an average sleep regularity score. However, people who slept very regularly did not see a decrease in this risk.

"Based on our findings, people with irregular sleep may only need to improve their sleep regularity to average levels, compared to very high levels, to prevent dementia," Pase said. "Future research is needed to confirm our findings."

ALSO READ: Wake Up Alarm Effective? What's the Best Sound To Keep You in a Wakeful State?

What Is Dementia?

Dementia is a generic term indicating cognitive decline that is severe enough to affect day-to-day functioning, including memory, language, problem-solving, and other thinking skills. It's a general word used to characterize a range of symptoms in people with many conditions, including Alzheimer's disease.

The disorders collectively referred to as "dementia" are brought on by aberrant alterations in the brain. Cognitive capacities, or thinking skills, deteriorate with dementia symptoms to the point where everyday functioning and independent living are affected. They also have an impact on relationships, behavior, and emotions.

About 60-80% of instances of dementia are related to Alzheimer's disease. The second most prevalent form of dementia is vascular dementia, which is brought on by brain blood artery obstruction and microscopic bleeding. Mixed dementia is the condition in which a person has numerous dementia types concurrently with different brain alterations.

RELATED ARTICLE: How Do 7 to 9 Hours of Sleep Help Improve Mental Health?

Check out more news and information on Sleep in Science Times.