Middle-aged insomnia can manifest as cognitive problems in retirement – ScienceDaily
The University of Helsinki’s Helsinki Health Study examined the development of symptoms of middle-aged insomnia and their effects on memory, learning and concentration after retirement. The follow-up period was 15-17 years.
According to the study, there is a clear link between long-term symptoms of insomnia and later poorer cognitive function.
“The findings show that in the context of severe insomnia symptoms, cognitive function in statutory retirees was impaired,” says Dr. Antti Etholé of the results of the study.
The study also found that memory problems and problems with the ability to learn and concentrate increased with prolonged insomnia symptoms.
Sleeps well as early as middle age
Previous research has shown that there are several mechanisms that may explain how sleep can affect cognitive function. What makes the recent study exceptional is the long follow-up period for the symptoms of insomnia.
Among other things, the study showed that if the symptoms of insomnia decreased over the years, cognitive function was also found to improve at retirement age compared with ongoing problems.
According to researchers, long-term symptoms of insomnia should be considered risk factors for poor cognitive function.
“Based on our findings, the early absence of insomnia symptoms or measures to improve the quality of sleep would be justified,” says Professor Tea Lallukka.
The quality of sleep can be improved in many ways, including the regularity of the sleep rhythm, the appropriate temperature and brightness of the sleeping environment, and the optimal timing of exercise, coffee consumption, and eating.
However, Lallukka believes that intervention studies are still needed to determine the effects of measures to support good sleep.
“In later studies, it would be interesting to shed more light on, for example, whether treating insomnia can also slow the development of memory problems,” says Lallukka. He points out that only self-reported memory symptoms can be taken into account in this study.
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