There are few studies that examine
Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2025 5:12 am
Even though sleep and physical activity are inextricably linked, how they combine to influence cognitive decline over long periods of time. This is an important gap in the knowledge base because sleep and physical activity behaviours may change preceding dementia diagnosis. When we aim to examine the combined effects of sleep and physical activity on cognitive function, we may instead be observing the effects of poor cognitive function on sleep and physical activity.
In our study, we used data from the English poland rcs data Longitudinal Study of Ageing, a large population-based cohort study of adults aged 50 years and older. Cognitively healthy participants were asked about their sleep and physical activity habits in 2008, and were then given cognitive tests every two years until 2018 to see how cognitive function changed during the 10-year period for people with different combinations of sleep duration and physical activity habits.
Excluding those who reported dementia diagnosis during the follow-up period or who had cognitive scores that suggested cognitive impairment, as well as examining long term changes in cognitive function made it more likely that we were observing the effects of sleep and physical activity on cognitive function rather than the other way around.
In our study, we used data from the English poland rcs data Longitudinal Study of Ageing, a large population-based cohort study of adults aged 50 years and older. Cognitively healthy participants were asked about their sleep and physical activity habits in 2008, and were then given cognitive tests every two years until 2018 to see how cognitive function changed during the 10-year period for people with different combinations of sleep duration and physical activity habits.
Excluding those who reported dementia diagnosis during the follow-up period or who had cognitive scores that suggested cognitive impairment, as well as examining long term changes in cognitive function made it more likely that we were observing the effects of sleep and physical activity on cognitive function rather than the other way around.