Lack of sleep linked to higher risk of dementia

COULD treating insomnia help prevent dementia?

A new study published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research found that people with insomnia are 43 per cent more likely to develop dementia later in life.

The findings by U.S. and Brazilian scientists were based on an analysis of five studies involving more than 5,000 insomnia patients. One possible explanation for the link is that poor sleep may weaken nerve cells, thereby increasing the chance of cell death — loss of memory cells is a major cause of dementia.

The team of researchers suggested that further studies should explore whether screening elderly people for insomnia could help to prevent dementia.