Older people who feel sleepy during the day and don’t feel like doing anything may be more likely to develop a syndrome that can lead to dementia, according to a study just published in the journal Neurology of the American Academy of Neurology. .
This condition is known as motor cognitive risk syndrome and those affected have slow walking speed and report memory problems, although they do not experience mobility difficulties or symptoms of dementia. This state may precede the onset of dementia.
The results showed that those who experience excessive daytime sleepiness and lack of enthusiasm to perform tasks are more likely to develop the syndrome compared to those who do not have these sleep-related problems. However, the study does not prove that these sleep problems are the cause of the syndrome, but only shows an association.
“Our findings highlight the importance of detecting sleep problems,” said Dr. Victoire Leroy of Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York, and the study’s author, in a note published by the American Academy of Neurology. “There is a possibility that people can receive help to improve their sleep problems and, in this way, prevent cognitive decline in the future,” adds the researcher.
Relationship between sleep disturbances and cognitive impairment
The research included 445 people with an average age of 76 years who did not suffer from dementia. At the start of the study, participants answered questionnaires about sleep and memory problems, and their walking speed on a treadmill was assessed every year for an average of three years.
The sleep assessment included questions about how often they had difficulty sleeping due to nighttime awakenings, whether they were not able to fall asleep within 30 minutes, whether they were too hot or cold, or whether they were taking sleep medications. To assess excessive daytime sleepiness, they asked them how often they had trouble staying awake when driving, eating, or participating in social activities. The question about their mood when tackling tasks was intended to find out whether they had difficulty maintaining enough enthusiasm to complete them.
Of people who experienced daytime sleepiness and lack of enthusiasm, 35.5% developed the syndrome, compared to 6.7% of those who did not have these problems.
A total of 177 people were classified as “bad sleepers” and 268 as “good sleepers.” At the beginning of the study, 42 people had motor cognitive risk syndrome and during the study another 36 people developed the syndrome. Of people who experienced daytime sleepiness and lack of enthusiasm, 35.5% developed the syndrome, compared to 6.7% of those who did not have these problems.
After taking into account other risk factors, such as age, depression and other health conditions, the researchers found that those who had excessive daytime sleepiness and lack of enthusiasm were more than three times more likely to develop the syndrome compared to those who They did not have these problems associated with sleep. One limitation of the study is that participants reported their own sleep, so they could have made memory errors when responding.
“More research is needed to look at the relationship between sleep problems and cognitive decline and the role that motor cognitive risk syndrome plays,” Leroy said. “We also need studies that explain the mechanisms that link these sleep disturbances with the syndrome and cognitive impairment,” he concludes.
