Sleep And Cognition In The Elderly

Understanding the role of sleep and the mechanisms at play in ageing are among the most exciting challenges in neuroscience. Although our understanding of the mechanisms governing sleep stages and their role in cognitive processes including memory functions is gradually increasing. most of the currently available data have been gathered in young adults. Still, substantial physiological changes in sleep are observed with increasing age, that may markedly impacts on daily functioning. This is why this Research Topic focuses on our current understanding of the impact of age-related changes in sleep architecture on various domains of cognition. The three editors Julie Carrier (Montréal, Canada), Philippe Peigneux (Brussels, Belgium) and Géraldine Rauchs (Caen, France) are specialized in various fields of sleep research. Here, they bring together an outstanding group of neuroscientist and clinical investigators engaged in the study of sleep, encompassing state-of-the-art studies of sleep disorders such as sleep apnoea or REM sleep behaviour disorder, studies assessing new treatments to improve sleep quality, together with experts in various domains of cognition such as vigilance, memory and dreams, in a perspective aimed at offering the interested reader a comprehensive view of the impact of age-related changes in sleep architecture on cognition.

Despite impressive advances in understanding sleep as a biological phenomenon and in understanding the nature of mental processes in the normal waking state, our knowledge of mental life during sleep remains extremely impoverished. The common identification of cognition with consciousness leaves the impression that little or no mental activity occurs during sleep. The present volume represents the Proceedings of the Arizona Conference on Sleep and Cognition, held in Tucson January 19-22, 1989. A principal concern of the conference was the implications of recent work on implicit memory and other aspects of information-processing outside of awareness for studies of cognitive processes during sleep, and the role of the sleep laboratory as a vehicle for studying various aspects of information processing outside of awareness, in the absence of the active deployment of attention. To this end, selected investigators in the area of sleep who have an interest in cognitive processes were brought together with their counterparts in the area of cognition who have an interest in sleep. We hope that one outcome of this meeting, and publication of the Proceedings, will be a new agenda for research on sleep that will carry investigators of both camps well into the 21st century.

With life expectancy on the rise, the proportion of people aged 60 or older is projected to account for more than one-fifth of the global population by 2050. Sleep quality is one of the most common health concerns that increases with age. Changes in sleep patterns associated with old age include disturbed sleep onset, an increase in sleep fragmentation, more frequent daytime dysfunction, and less slow-wave sleep than younger adults. Sleep is a complex physiological process critical to our health and survival; the many functions of sleep range from cerebral metabolic waste clearance and energy conservation to supporting cognitive performance and psychological well-being. Insufficient sleep has been linked to an increased risk of developing several chronic conditions, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, immunodeficiency, chronic pain, depression, and neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease. What remains unclear is how variations in sleep quality are related to cognitive performance and how this relationship changes with age, with several decades of research on the subject having produced mixed results. Despite this, much recent evidence indicates a strong relationship between disturbed sleep and accelerated cognitive decline in older adults. For example, several studies have found that a loss in sleep quality precedes the emergence of cognitive deficits and that sleep disturbances may therefore constitute an early marker of cognitive decline. Sleep disturbances also become more extensive with the progression of neurodegenerative diseases, which raises questions about the possibility of a bidirectional relationship.

This issue of Sleep Medicine Clinics focuses on Sleep in Older Adults, with topics including: Sleep in Normal Aging; Insomnia in the Older Adult; Sleep Apnea in the Older Adult; Circadian Rhythm Sleep-Wake Disorders in the Older Adult; Restless Legs Syndrome; Periodic Limb Movement Disorder and Other Sleep Related Movement Disorders in the Older Adult; REM Sleep Behavior Disorder and Other Parasomnias in the Older Adult; Neurodegenerative Disorders and Sleep; Medical Conditions and Sleep in the Older Adult; Psychiatric Illness and Sleep in the Older Adult; Sleep and Cognition in the Older Adult; Sleep and Nocturia in the Older Adult; Sleep and Long Term Care; and Sleep in the Hospitalized Older Adult.

Societies around the world are concerned about dementia and the other forms of cognitive impairment that affect many older adults. We now know that brain changes typically begin years before people show symptoms, which suggests a window of opportunity to prevent or delay the onset of these conditions. Emerging evidence that the prevalence of dementia is declining in high-income countries offers hope that public health interventions will be effective in preventing or delaying cognitive impairments. Until recently, the research and clinical communities have focused primarily on understanding and treating these conditions after they have developed. Thus, the evidence base on how to prevent or delay these conditions has been limited at best, despite the many claims of success made in popular media and advertising. Today, however, a growing body of prevention research is emerging. Preventing Cognitive Decline and Dementia: A Way Forward assesses the current state of knowledge on interventions to prevent cognitive decline and dementia, and informs future research in this area. This report provides recommendations of appropriate content for inclusion in public health messages from the National Institute on Aging.

"In two landmark and world-famous studies, over 150,000 eleven-year-olds participated in Scottish national intelligence tests, known as the Scottish Mental Surveys, which are the only studies to date to test an entire population. Over the past 10 years, Ian J. Deary, Lawrence J. Whalley, and John M. Starr have conducted follow-up studies with many of these now elderly participants. Using the latest testing assessments and technology, they have further investigated the roles of biological and sociobehavioral factors in cognitive aging." "This book is important to many fields and will surely become the source to consult on anything related to IQ and its effects on cognitive aging and physical longevity. It captures a lifetime of intelligence, from childhood to about age 80, and also explores general matters of intelligence. Does having a high childhood IQ affect one's likelihood of being ill later in life or surviving to old age? Does it affect happiness later in life? Does being a twin affect childhood intelligence? These questions and more are explored in depth in this book."--BOOK JACKET.

Human Sleep and Cognition.