Scientists Think These Brain Changes May Link Insomnia To Dementia

<div><img src="https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/68da8cf8180000743f5d077d.jpg?ops=scalefit_630_noupscale" alt="Insomnia" data-caption="Insomnia" data-credit-link-back="" data-credit="Greta Bartolini via Unsplash" />Insomnia</div><div class="content-list-component text"><p>We’re <a href="https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-dementia/managing-the-risk-of-dementia/possible-risks-of-dementia/sleep" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">still not quite sure</a> how sleep affects dementia and vice versa, though <a href="https://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/news/study-suggests-disrupted-sleep-may-be-associated-with-changes-in-thinking-and-memory-later-in-life/?gad_source=1&amp;gad_campaignid=22937760924&amp;gbraid=0AAAAACUWuFUear0HT_GTkKDrK9Oa7nhJ8&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQjw3OjGBhDYARIsADd-uX5p2U10HJKB_sJ60D1tPcE4VMVfH7aYDGZBmVex2enetgpM9WMX2y0aAoQ6EALw_wcB" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">some researchers think</a> the two might be linked.</p><p>For instance, <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/minimum-hours-sleep-dementia-prevention_uk_668ba644e4b07ef2c8177b4d">poor kip in midlife </a>is associated with a higher risk of developing the condition, though that doesn’t prove one causes the other. </p><p>And a <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/how-much-bad-sleep-raises-dementia-risk_uk_68c7c79de4b0539d2b993d33" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">recent study suggested</a> that people with “chronic” insomnia (ie who struggled to sleep for at least three nights a week over a period of at least three months) might be at a 20% higher risk, too.</p><p>And though it was not proven in the paper, the authors suggested some causes that may help to explain the link