Many patients with dementia have trouble sleeping, but scientists are now questioning what comes first – cognitive decline or sleep deficit.
A recent study has suggested that people who have less REM sleep (which is the point in the sleep cycle that involves deep and rapid eye movement) are more likely to develop dementia than people who get a quality night’s rest.
For the study, researchers looked at overnight sleep study data for 321 adults who were age 60 or older and did not have dementia. Researchers then followed up with those individuals for years to see if any of the adults developed dementia. They found that a reduction of the time people spent in REM sleep was associated with an increased risk for dementia.
Read more about the study and its findings here.
