The exact amount of sleep experts recommend to slash dementia risk
Experts say these everyday habits can have a lasting impact on brain health.
Getting the right amount of sleep each night could play a key role in reducing your risk of dementia, according to new research. A study published by Canadian researchers in the journal PLOS One has found that both too little and too much sleep are linked to a higher likelihood of developing the condition, which affects memory and thinking skills and impacts more than 55 million people worldwide.
Researchers discovered that sleeping outside the recommended range of seven to eight hours a night may increase the risk over time. Those who slept for less than seven hours had an 18% higher risk of dementia, while people sleeping for more than eight hours saw their risk rise by 28%.
Lead author Akinkunle Oye-Somefun said: "Consistently sleeping outside the seven-to-eight-hour range, in either direction, may carry long-term implications for brain health - implications that are easy to overlook because they accumulate silently over decades."
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The findings reported by MedicalNewsToday come from a large analysis of 69 previous studies involving adults aged 35 and over, examining the impact of daily habits on brain health. While sleep was a key factor, researchers also found that physical activity and time spent sitting played an important role.
People who exercised regularly had a 25% lower risk of dementia, while those who sat for more than eight hours a day faced a 27% increased risk.
This fits with NHS guidelines, which advise adults to engage in some form of physical activity every day and to complete at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity.
Experts say the results highlight how small, everyday habits can have a lasting impact on brain health.
Dr Dung Trinh said the findings support existing medical advice, adding: "That said, this is still observational research, so it does not prove that these behaviours directly prevent dementia, but it does reinforce that they are sensible, low-risk strategies that fit well with what we already recommend for overall cardiovascular and cognitive health."
Researchers say maintaining a regular sleep routine, staying active and breaking up long periods of sitting could all help reduce the risk.
The NHS recommends that adults get between seven and nine hours of sleep a night.
