Sleep is closely linked to health. New research from researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital examining the link between sleep disturbances and deficiencies in older adults and the risk of depression and death, found that the risk of depression was double among participants who reported receiving less than five hours of sleep compared with those who reported 7-8 hours of sleep per night. The team also found associations between sleep disturbance and sleep deprivation with a general risk of death. Results are published in Growing older.
Our findings highlight a link between sleep deprivation and the risk of depression and highlight the importance of efforts to help older people get enough sleep each night. “
Rebecca Robbins, Ph.D., Lead Author, Department of Sleep and Cycle Disorders
To examine the association between sleep quality and quantity and risk of depression and death, Robbins and colleagues used nationally representative data collected from older adults participating in the National Health Survey. and Aging (NHATS). NHATS is a long-term study of Medicare beneficiaries 65 years and older. Survey data from NHATS partners has been collected annually since 2011.
A sample of 2,610 participants responded to sleep questionnaires in 2013 and 2014. The researchers examined participants ’responses about several characteristics of anxiety and sleep deprivation, including awareness, nap frequency, duration it caused participants to fall asleep, quality of sleep (good / very good, moderate, very poor / poor), length of sleep and snoring. They also collected information (from health care agents as needed) about patient outcomes such as depression and death from any cause for up to five years after the study.
Overall, they found a strong relationship between a number of sleep variables and deprivation deficits and eventual depression over time. Taking 30 minutes or more to fall asleep was associated with a 45 percent greater risk for event dementia. Having difficulty maintaining alertness, regular intakes, reporting poor sleep quality, and sleeping five or fewer hours a night were also associated with increased risk of death. larger.
“This prospective study reveals that baseline sleep deprivation, when participants’ average age was 76 years old, was associated with a double risk of dementia and multiple mortality. reason over the next 4 to 5 years, ”said lead author Charles Czeisler, MD, PhD, FRCP, FAPS, head of the Department of Sleep and Cycle Disorders. “These data add to the evidence that sleep is important for brain health and highlight the need for further research into the effectiveness of sleep development and treatment of sleep disorders on Alzheimer’s disease risk and mortality.”
The authors want further study of the causal link between sleep and depression and death, as visions could lead to a new lens to see sleep among older adults.
“Our study shows that very short sleep periods and poor quality sleep in older people increase the risk of developing depression and premature death. There should be more focus on getting a healthy sleep in older adults, “said second author Stuart Quan, MD, of the department of sleep and circadian problems.
Source:
Brigham and Women ‘s Hospital
Magazine Reference:
Robbins, R., et al. (2021) Examining sleep deprivation and anxiety and the risk for incident depression and multiple-cause mortality in older adults over 5 years in the United States. Growing older. doi.org/10.18632/aging.202591.