In a new study with Japanese adults aged 60 years and older, short and long daily sleep duration and hypnotic use are risk factors for dementia and death in Japanese elderly adults.
During follow‐up, 294 participants developed dementia, and 282 died. Age‐ and sex‐adjusted incidence rates of dementia and all‐cause mortality were significantly greater in subjects with daily sleep duration of fewer than 5.0 hours and 10.0 hours and more than in those with daily sleep duration of 5.0 to 6.9 hours.
Concerning the impact of hypnotic use on risk of dementia and death, subjects who utilized hypnotics and had any sleep duration had a risk of dementia that was 1.66 times as extraordinary and a danger of death that was 1.83 times as great as the individuals who did not utilize hypnotics and had an every day rest length of 5.0 to 6.9 hours.
Authors noted, “Given the beneficial effects of physical activity on risk of sleep disturbance, these findings indicate that not only maintenance of appropriate sleep duration, but also a modification of lifestyle behaviors related to sleep may be an effective strategy for preventing dementia and premature death in elderly adults.”
The findings are published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.