A study by the American Academy of Neurology revealed a common sleep disorder may be more prevalent among people suffering from cognitive impairment, like dementia.
The condition of focus, obstructive sleep apnea, affects nearly 1 billion people worldwide, becoming a health concern in the international medical community.
Improved sleep may be beneficial for boosting cognitive skills and reducing deterioration, according to the new findings, involving 67 participants in older adulthood with cognitive impairment.
The participants were given questionnaires to assess cognitive function.
“Better sleep is beneficial to the brain and can improve cognitive skills. Yet in our study, we found that over half of the people with cognitive impairment had obstructive sleep apnea,” said Mark Boulos, one of the study’s authors.
“We also found that those with the sleep disorder had lower scores on thinking and memory tests. Fully understanding how obstructive sleep apnea affects this population is important because with treatment, there is potential to improve thinking and memory skills as well as overall quality of life.”
