Snoring and Risk of Cognitive Decline: A 4‐year Follow‐up Study in 1389 Older Individuals

Sleep, Cognition, and Normal Aging

“…Subjective sleepiness is a moderately consistent predictor of cognitive decline (see Table 4 column labeled “EDS”), but we would stress to the reader that even this finding becomes non-significant after controlling for depression (Quesnot & Alperovitch, 1999) and general health (Blackwell et al, 2014; Sterniczuk, Theou, Rusak, & Rockwood, 2013). The strongest evidence for short sleep duration in old age leading to speedier cognitive decline arises from the Nurses’ Health Study (N>15,000; Devore et al, 2014), but readers might suspend judgment on this issue because at least five papers failed to show this effect (Table 4).…”

The Impact of Insomnia on Cognitive Functioning in Older Adults

“…Although a cross‐sectional association between sleep quality and cognitive function has been identified, 5,10,11 and the acute effects of poor sleep on cognitive performance are well established, 12,13 little research has been performed to examine the effect of chronic sleep disturbance on cognitive function. Some studies of incident cognitive impairment have focused on documented sleep‐related breathing disturbances or particular polysomnographic patterns, 14,15 but few have examined reported sleep complaints, which are easy to ascertain in research and clinical settings, as predictors of cognitive function 16 . We hypothesize that late‐life insomnia affects decline in cognitive function independent of its underlying etiology and other factors known to influence cognition (e.g., age, low educational attainment, hypertension, cerebrovascular disease, smoking, alcohol use, and depression 17–20 ).…”

“…Some studies of incident cognitive impairment have focused on documented sleep-related breathing disturbances or particular polysomnographic patterns, 14,15 but few have examined reported sleep complaints, which are easy to ascertain in research and clinical settings, as predictors of cognitive function. 16 We hypothesize that late-life insomnia affects decline in cognitive function independent of its underlying etiology and other factors known to influence cognition (e.g., age, low educational attainment, hypertension, cerebrovascular disease, smoking, alcohol use, and depression [17][18][19][20]. Mechanisms that might drive this relationship include reduced social activity secondary to fatigue and irritability 21 and inadequate repair and restoration.…”

Daytime Sleepiness Is Associated with 3-Year Incident Dementia and Cognitive Decline in Older Japanese-American Men

“…3 Only a few large epidemiological studies of sleep disturbances have examined longitudinal associations between sleep complaints and cognitive impairment. 6 Several underlying mechanisms by which reported sleep disturbances may have a significant impact on cognitive function in older persons have been hypothesized. These include sleep apnea, a common sleep disorder, and hypoxia, which occurs with this condition, or possibly sleep distur-bances associated with ischemia linked to underlying cardiovascular disease or the prolonged effects of depression.…”