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New research links excessive daytime sleepiness in the elderly to dementia
Here's another reason to sleep well.
A 3 year old study of more than 400 elderly people suggests a link between excessive daytime sleepiness and dementia.
KERA's Sam Baker discussed this with Dr. Alla Al Habiba neurologist at Texas Health Plano and Texas Neurology Consultants.
In this case, describe excessive daytime sleepiness.
To actually wake up in the morning and not feel fresh and nap excessively during the day. You never feel refreshed and ready to move on for anything other than good.
Something like that affected everyone at any time and at any age.
Yes, absolutely. It can strike from childhood to adulthood to older individuals. But the importance of the research is that as we get older, these can surface as signs of predementia. And that's where the meaning of this comes.
What is the connection here with dementia?
Dementia is a collection of symptoms, and fortunately there are symptoms of predementia that we can catch. And if we catch them early, we can hopefully prevent the dementia from developing or worsening. Things like poor sleep quality, poor lifestyle choices and poor diet – all of these can contribute to the risk of dementia.
Now does this also have to do with moderate cognitive risk syndrome?
We believe that there are signs and symptoms that precede dementia, which can particularly affect our gait, motor skills and cognition.
Poor sleep can affect daytime cognition and you will be so tired, tired, sleepy and drowsy during the day. Your walking ability and motor skills may also decrease before the actual dementia.
Is this the kind of thing people tend to dismiss as just a sign of aging?
Absolute. I hear this every day in my clinic when I ask my patients if they feel refreshed in the morning? And they immediately say, you know, we're retired. We don't really have much to do during the day. And we have memory problems nowadays that are related to our age. And then I have to teach them that dementia and memory are not normal older symptoms. It's a condition. It's a disease. And we have to deal with this as it is.
Who among the elderly is more at risk for this syndrome?
People who are obese, as this can cause obstructive sleep apnea at night and then affect their wakefulness during the day. People who smoke and have chronic conditions such as epilepsy, diabetes and high blood pressure are also at risk.
Is good sleep hygiene the key to avoiding this motor cognitive risk syndrome?
Absolute. We always think about adding medications, adding supplements, and we forget the core issues. Poor sleep quality can predispose you to this syndrome, as can its progression to full-blown dementia.
Having sleep hygiene – routine hours of going to bed and waking up at the same time, avoiding screen time before going to bed, avoiding meditation, caffeinated drinks (beverage) or alcohol in the evenings – all of these will impact sleep quality and subsequently daytime cognitive function.
It seems like there are some lessons that young people can learn from this.
Right. These symptoms or predementia syndrome can occur years and decades before the true symptoms of dementia emerge.
So avoiding these can keep you from going that way and towards dementia as a younger individual. When adapting to new skills or practicing healthy sleep hygiene. And that also affects your older years. Growing up, you have bad choices and you end up having to, you know, live with those choices forever.
But not everyone who had sleep problems developed this specific syndrome, right?
Absolute. So there is a connection that we can see and there are people who are very high functioning so they can hide these symptoms. I think this is a good warning sign that we should take seriously. But I don't think everyone will move towards dementia.
SOURCES:
Research into excessive daytime sleepiness/dementia
Is it normal for people with dementia to sleep a lot during the day?
