Millions of People Have Experienced Declining Brain Function. Why? 0 8

Sleep quality has proven to be more important than its duration for cognitive functioning in older adults, according to a new study by researchers from Pennsylvania State University and Albert Einstein College of Medicine. The work, published in the journal Sleep Health, showed that even with normal sleep duration, frequent awakenings during the night slow down thinking the next day.

The study involved 261 participants aged over 70. For 16 days, participants wore sleep trackers and performed short cognitive tests on their smartphones several times a day, assessing information processing speed, working memory, and visual-spatial memory. In total, the researchers analyzed more than 20,000 such tests.

It was found that if a person was awake for at least 30 minutes longer than usual during the night, their information processing speed significantly decreased the following day. Neither total sleep duration, daytime naps, nor bedtime had any effect on cognitive performance.

The authors note that regular nighttime awakenings may be an early signal of the risk of cognitive decline and the development of dementia. They suggest that improving sleep quality—through a stable routine, a dark and quiet environment, and non-pharmacological methods—could be an important and accessible strategy for supporting brain health in older age.

Earlier, it was reported that a lack of sleep could shorten lifespan almost as much as smoking.