| Title: | Association of sleep duration with Alzheimer's disease and cognition |
| Journal: | Alzheimer's & Dementia |
| Published: | 8 Jul 2026 |
| Pubmed: | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42417271/ |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.71528 |
Publication 20406
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Abstract
INTRODUCTION: The association of sleep duration with Alzheimer's disease (AD) - related brain atrophy and cognition remains unclear.</p>
METHODS: Among 38,816 participants in the UK Biobank, we examined the association between sleep duration and a validated machine-learning-derived magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) signature of AD-related atrophy (Spatial Pattern of Abnormality for Recognition of Early AD [SPARE-AD]) and three cognitive test scores using generalized additive models. Independently, electronic health records (EHR) from TriNetX were used to examine the 10-year AD risk associated with insomnia and hypersomnia.</p>
RESULTS: Sleep duration exhibited a U-shaped association with SPARE-AD (p = 0.001), Trail Making Tests A and B, and the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (all p < 0.001). Short (5-6 hours) and long (9-10 hours) sleep duration were associated with poorer cognitive performance. Both insomnia and hypersomnia showed a high risk for Alzheimer's disease.</p>
CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates a U-shaped association between sleep duration and AD-like atrophy and cognition.</p>
DISCUSSION: These findings show that excessive or insufficient sleep is linked to worse brain health.</p>
13 Keywords
- Aged
- Alzheimer Disease
- Atrophy
- Brain
- Cognition
- Female
- Humans
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging
- Male
- Neuropsychological Tests
- Sleep Duration
- Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders
- United Kingdom
20 Authors
- Filippos Anagnostakis
- Cliodhna Kate O'Toole
- Guray Erus
- Dhivya Srinivasan
- Yuhan Cui
- Michail Kokkorakis
- Xin Ma
- Christiane Reitz
- Adam M. Brickman
- Despina Kontos
- Ajay Gupta
- Sam Payabvash
- Elisa E. Konofagou
- Grace McIlvain
- Feixiong Cheng
- Matthew R. Baldwin
- Haochang Shou
- Christos Davatzikos
- Susan Resnick
- Junhao Wen
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