A new Canadian study has found that older adults with insomnia are at greater risk of developing memory impairment and long-term cognitive disorders such as dementia.
The study, whose findings were published in the Sleep journal, was based on data from more than 26,000 participants in the Canadian Longitudinal Study of Aging between the ages of 45 and 85.
Researchers compared completed self-reported sleep and memory quality assessments and neuropsychological testing across several cognitive domains in 2019 and beyond in 2022. Participants who reported impaired sleep quality during this three-year interval were also more likely to report subjective memory impairment.
Insomnia is classified as a psychological disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the main handbook used by doctors around the world, scientists said.
The diagnosis requires symptoms of difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep or waking up too early three nights a week for three months. Besides, insomnia sufferers must report that this sleep problem causes them difficulty in the daytime.
For this study, researchers divided subjects into three categories: those who did not report sleep problems in 2019, those who had some insomnia symptoms, and those who developed probable insomnia.
When examining the 2022 data, it was found that those who reported sleep impairment - from no symptoms to some or probable insomnia or from some symptoms to probable insomnia - were more likely to report memory impairment or to have been diagnosed by a doctor.
They were also more likely to have anxiety, depression, daytime sleepiness, intermittent breathing during sleep, other sleep-related problems, smoking and a higher body mass index (BMI). In addition, the study found that men with insomnia performed worse on memory tests than women, suggesting that older men may be at greater risk.
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