!function(n){if(!window.cnx){window.cnx={},window.cnx.cmd=[];var t=n.createElement('iframe');t.display='none',t.onload=function(){var n=t.contentWindow.document,c=n.createElement('script');c.src='//cd.connatix.com/connatix.player.js',c.setAttribute('async','1'),c.setAttribute('type','text/javascript'),n.body.appendChild(c)},n.head.appendChild(t)}}(document);(new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=8b034f64-513c-4987-b16f-42d6008f7feb';cnx.cmd.push(function(){cnx({"playerId":"8b034f64-513c-4987-b16f-42d6008f7feb","mediaId":"c41e05a6-7ba0-42f1-8023-0f5ff30eab87"}).render("6a5ddd55e4b0ab756517b566");}); Dementia researchers have known for a while that sleep changes appear to be associated with Alzheimer’s risk, though it can be very hard to work out whether the condition causes the symptom or vice versa. It may be a mix of both. Whatever the connection, a previous study showed that older people who got fewer than five hours of sleep a night were about twice as likely to develop dementia over five years than those who got six to nine hours’ shut-eye. However, a new study published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia sought to find out why longer sleep duration seems to up our risk too. How much sleep was linked to higher dementia risk? This research looked at 2,410 study participants, all of whom were over the age of 65. The researchers compared the individuals’ sleep patterns with their levels of phosphorylated tau 181, or p-tau181 – a modified type of tau protein sometimes described as a “hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease”. Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia in the UK and has been associated with the build-up of amyloid plaques and tau tangles. They’ve been compared to the “trigger and bullet” in the development of the condition. Higher levels of p-tau181 buildup began to be seen from eight-and-a-half to nine hours of sleep, and shot up even further past 10 hours of sleep. (This wasn’t about a one-off night of added shut-eye, by the way – these numbers reflected participants’ regular sleep routines). The researchers think this might mean that older individuals who are longer sleepers might be likelier to experience early neurodegenerative changes. This study follows a 2025 paper which found that getting more than nine hours of sleep a night seemed to negatively affect cognitive performance among people of all ages, especially those with depression. More research is needed Study author Dr Vanessa M Young from UT Health San Antonio said: “A lot of people worry about whether their sleep habits are affecting their brain health. “Because this is a snapshot in time rather than a long-term study, we cannot say that long sleep causes Alzheimer’s, but the findings suggest it may be worth monitoring, and that more sleep is not always better for brain health.” Previous research, which relied on the same data set (The Framingham Heart Study, which has been following a group of people and their children since 1948), also found that older adults who went from sleeping fewer than nine hours a night to nine hours or more over the years may be at a higher risk of dementia. Related... If You Wake Up At 4am And Can't Fall Back To Sleep, You May Have This Condition How You Sleep Could Say A Lot About Your Intelligence 4 sleep habits for healthy ageing, and 1 that might need medical help
Dementia researchers have known for a while that sleep changes appear to be associated with Alzheimer’s risk, though it can be very hard to work out whether the condition causes the symptom or vice versa. It may be a mix of both. Whatever the connection, a previous study showed that older people who got fewer than five hours of sleep a night were about twice as likely to develop dementia over five years than those who got six to nine hours’ shut-eye. However, a new study published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia sought to find out why longer sleep duration seems to up our risk too. How much sleep was linked to higher dementia risk? This research looked at 2,410 study participants, all of whom were over the age of 65. The researchers compared the individuals’ sleep patterns with their levels of phosphorylated tau 181, or p-tau181 – a modified type of tau protein sometimes described as a “hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease”. Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia in the UK and has been associated with the build-up of amyloid plaques and tau tangles. They’ve been compared to the “trigger and bullet” in the development of the condition. Higher levels of p-tau181 buildup began to be seen from eight-and-a-half to nine hours of sleep, and shot up even further past 10 hours of sleep. (This wasn’t about a one-off night of added shut-eye, by the way – these numbers reflected participants’ regular sleep routines). The researchers think this might mean that older individuals who are longer sleepers might be likelier to experience early neurodegenerative changes. This study follows a 2025 paper which found that getting more than nine hours of sleep a night seemed to negatively affect cognitive performance among people of all ages, especially those with depression. More research is needed Study author Dr Vanessa M Young from UT Health San Antonio said: “A lot of people worry about whether their sleep habits are affecting their brain health. “Because this is a snapshot in time rather than a long-term study, we cannot say that long sleep causes Alzheimer’s, but the findings suggest it may be worth monitoring, and that more sleep is not always better for brain health.” Previous research, which relied on the same data set (The Framingham Heart Study, which has been following a group of people and their children since 1948), also found that older adults who went from sleeping fewer than nine hours a night to nine hours or more over the years may be at a higher risk of dementia. Related... If You Wake Up At 4am And Can't Fall Back To Sleep, You May Have This Condition How You Sleep Could Say A Lot About Your Intelligence 4 sleep habits for healthy ageing, and 1 that might need medical help
