Eine Studie mit 6.000 älteren Erwachsenen zeigt, dass chronische Schlaflosigkeit mit fast 12 % aller Demenzfälle in Verbindung gebracht werden kann, die mit Hörverlust und Bluthochdruck als bedeutender modifizierbarer Risikofaktor vergleichbar sind, was darauf hindeutet, dass Schlafinterventionen in den späten 60ern ein kritisches Zeitfenster für Interventionen darstellen.

>For millions of older adults who spend their nights tossing and turning, struggling to fall asleep or stay asleep, insomnia often feels like nothing more than an exhausting inconvenience. But new research into the link between sleep and dementia suggests these nighttime struggles may be far more serious than previously thought.

>According to a study published in the Journals of Gerontology: Series A, nearly one in eight dementia cases in the United States could be linked to insomnia. That translates to roughly 500,000 people whose cognitive decline might be connected to chronic sleep problems a number that rivals the impact of hearing loss, already recognized as a major modifiable risk factor for dementia.

>*“We were pretty surprised at the magnitude of the effect,” says Yuqian Lin, a data analyst at Massachusetts General Hospital who led the [study](https://academic.oup.com/biomedgerontology/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/gerona/glaf289/8405748?login=false).*

>A Hidden Connection Emerges

>The researchers analyzed data from nearly 6,000 Americans aged 65 and older enrolled in the National Health and Aging Trends Study. This long-running survey tracks the health and aging of older adults over time. Participants reported difficulties with falling asleep, staying asleep, or both. Researchers then tracked who developed dementia using cognitive assessments and reports from family members.

>The team combined these findings with data from large-scale reviews of earlier studies. This approach allowed them to estimate how much insomnia may contribute to dementia cases at the population level. Their conclusion: approximately 12 percent of dementia cases could potentially be attributed to sleep disturbances.

>This places insomnia alongside other well-known risk factors like high blood pressure and hearing loss conditions that, crucially, can be treated or managed, offering hope that some dementia cases might be preventable.

Also associated with dementia? Yep, sleeping pills!