VANCOUVER—The quality and quantity of sleep may be associated with the risk for cognitive decline, according to four studies presented at the 2012 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference. Treatments for insomnia or circadian rhythm delay might reduce or prevent cognitive decline, investigators reported.

Sleep Duration and Cognition
Compared with a sleep duration of seven hours per day, sleep durations of five or fewer hours per day and of nine or more hours per day were associated with worse average memory at older ages, according to Elizabeth Devore, ScD, Associate Epidemiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Short and long sleep durations at midlife and in later life were both associated with worse memory in later life.… [Continue Reading]