Alzheimer's: daytime sleepiness can be an early symptom of dementia
Created: 09/21/2022, 16:56
By: Judith Brown
Sleep changes can be an indication of changes in the brain.
According to a study, a long afternoon nap can be an early symptom of dementia.
An extensive and long lunch break is part of everyday life for many seniors.
However, napping too long during the day can not only increase the risk of Alzheimer's.
At the same time, daytime sleepiness or sleeping long during the day can also be an early symptom, which may indicate dementia.
This is shown by the results of a study.
Alzheimer's: daytime sleepiness can be an early symptom of dementia
According to a study, an afternoon nap of more than an hour can increase the risk of dementia by 40 percent.
© Westend61/IMAGO
The study, published in the journal
Alzheimer's and Dementia
, followed 1,400 participants with an average age of 81 over a 14-year period at Harvard Medical School and UC San Francisco.
At the start of the study, 76 percent of the participants had no cognitive disorders, 20 percent had mild ones, while four percent had Alzheimer's disease.
Twenty-four percent of participants who initially had no intellectual disabilities developed Alzheimer's disease after six years.
The researchers found a difference in sleep patterns compared to the participants who didn't develop Alzheimer's disease.
Sleeping habits were measured using a special wristwatch that all subjects had to wear two weeks a year.
The scientists used this to examine the connection between sleep behavior and cognitive decline.
If the seniors were inactive for a sustained period of time between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. during the day, the watch registered this as napping.
The cognitive performance of the participants was also examined and recorded in annual tests.
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Dementia: A nap of more than an hour increases the risk, according to a study
The results showed that subjects without intellectual disabilities increased their daily sleep time by an average of 11 minutes per year.
In contrast, sleep time doubled to 24 minutes on average in participants with mild cognitive impairment.
In the third group, those affected by Alzheimer's, it even increased by 68 minutes.
In addition, it was found that more frequent and longer naps in the following year were associated with declining cognitive abilities.
The risk of dementia was also 40 percent higher among participants who slept more than an hour or more times a day than among those who slept less or less.
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According to study leader Yue Leng, daytime sleepiness can be a sign of mental decline in people who don't usually nap.
It is possible that the daily bedtime has consequences for mental abilities.
However, the study does not show that too frequent naps lead to dementia.
However, the authors of the study are convinced that daytime sleepiness can be an early symptom of dementia.
The researchers do not give a recommendation for the duration of a nap.
Seniors should, however, monitor their sleep behavior during the day.
Finally, changes in sleep can indicate changes in the brain.
This article only contains general information on the respective health topic and is therefore not intended for self-diagnosis, treatment or medication. In no way does it replace a visit to the doctor. Unfortunately, our editors are not allowed to answer individual questions about clinical pictures.
