Cognitive Decline May Lead to Sleep Disturbances

Research shows that sleep difficulties contribute to cognitive decline. Now, findings in Neurology suggest the reverse may also be true.
Investigators followed nearly 2500 community-dwelling, nondemented, older women for almost 15 years. Cognitive function was evaluated periodically, and sleep quantity and quality were measured over about four nights at the end of the study.
Women with cognitive decline during follow-up were more likely than those without cognitive decline to have difficulty falling and staying asleep at the end of follow-up (although total sleep time did not differ between the groups). The associations held after adjustment for confounders including age, health status, and use of sleep medications.
The authors conclude: "The association between cognitive decline and sleep disturbances may be bidirectional," emphasizing that cognitive impairment may contribute to sleep difficulties.