Long-term insomnia symptoms may lead to impaired cognitive performance at retirement age.
The University of Helsinki’s Helsinki Health Study evaluated the development of insomnia symptoms in middle age and their impact on memory, learning capacity, and concentration after retirement. The follow-up period was 15–17 years.
According to the study, long-term insomnia symptoms and later poorer cognitive functioning have a clear connection.
“The findings indicate that severe insomnia symptoms were associated with worse cognitive function among those who were on statutory pension,” says Doctoral Researcher Antti Etholén, describing the results of the study.
The study also discovered that when the insomnia symptoms lasted longer, the memory impairments, learning ability problems, and attention problems worsened. The research was published in the Journal of Aging and Health.
Sleeping Well Already in Middle Age
Prior research has shown that there are a number of mechanisms that can explain how sleep can affect cognitive functioning. What makes the recently published study exceptional is the long follow-up period for insomnia symptoms.
Among other things, the study demonstrated that if insomnia symptoms eased over the years, cognitive functioning was also found to be better at retirement age compared to the problems persisting.
According to the researchers, long-lasting insomnia symptoms should be considered risk factors for poor cognitive functioning.
“Based on our findings, early intervention tackling insomnia symptoms, or measures aimed at improving the quality of sleep would be justified,” says Professor Tea Lallukka.
There are many ways to improve the quality of sleep, including the regularity of the sleep rhythm, the appropriate temperature and brightness of the sleeping environment, and the optimal timing of physical exercise, coffee consumption, and eating.
However, Lallukka believes that intervention studies are still needed to ascertain the effects of measures in support of good sleep.
“In subsequent studies, it would be interesting to shed further light on, for example, whether the treatment of insomnia can also slow down the development of memory disorders,” Lallukka says. She points out that only self-reported memory symptoms could be taken into consideration in the present study.
Reference: “Trajectories of Insomnia Symptoms Among Aging Employees and Their Associations With Memory, Learning Ability, and Concentration After Retirement – A Prospective Cohort Study” by Antti Etholén, MD, Olli Pietiläinen, PhD, Anne Kouvonen, PhD, Mirja Hänninen, MD, Ossi Rahkonen, PhD and Tea Lallukka, PhD, 28 April 2022, Journal of Aging and Health.
DOI: 10.1177/08982643221078740
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