Sleeping 8 hours or more and early bedtimes may increase dementia risk

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2022-09-21 17:01

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Old_Hands By Sharada Prasad CS from Berkeley, India - Old Hands, CC BY 2.0

Chinese scientists say the time people go to bed and the amount of time they sleep may affect their risk of developing dementia. They studied 1,982 older adults in China who were dementia-free at the start of the study, of whom 97 were diagnosed with dementia during an average follow-up of 3.7 years. They found the risk of dementia was 69% higher in people who slept for more than eight hours (versus seven to eight hours) and two times higher for those who went to bed before 9pm (versus 10pm or later). The team says this suggests that cognitive function should be monitored in older adults who sleep long hours or go to bed early.

Media release

From: Wiley

Do sleep timing and duration affect dementia risk?

New research published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society suggests that the time people go to bed and the amount of time they sleep may affect their risk of developing dementia.

In the study of 1,982 older adults in China who were free of dementia at the start of the study, 97 participants were diagnosed with dementia during an average follow-up of 3.7 years.

Risk of dementia was 69% higher in those who slept for more than 8 hours (versus 7-8 hours) and 2-times higher for those who went to bed before 9 PM (versus 10 PM or later).

“This suggests that cognitive function should be monitored in older adults who report prolonged 102time in bed and advanced sleep timing,” the authors wrote.

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