How Sleep Testing Could Help You Fight Dementia

Exercising, learning new things, and eating a balanced diet could all help you safeguard your mental health and delay or prevent dementia. How you sleep could also play a big role in keeping your brain sharp as you age. Let’s discuss the relationship between sleep habits and dementia risk. Then, we’ll talk about how sleep testing could be the key to helping you get the brain-saving rest you deserve.

Sleep Habits and Dementia Risk

Sleep has a profound impact on the brain. Every day, it helps you process and store memories, and it gives you the mental alertness you need to perform well at work. It also has long-term implications for your brain’s health. In fact, if you regularly get the wrong amount of sleep or suffer from poor quality sleep, you are at an increased risk of developing dementia.

Here are a few tips to help you optimize your sleep routine:

• Don’t sleep in. After a long week at work, it may be tempting to get in a few extra hours of shuteye on the weekend. However, getting too much sleep can actually hurt your brain. Individuals who regularly get more than nine hours of sleep are at a greater risk of dementia than those who sleep for six to nine hours.
• Limit disruptions. Does your partner snore loudly, or do street lamps outside your window make it difficult for you to sleep through the night? Do your best to minimize such disruptions. You could encourage your partner to seek treatment for snoring and/or sleep apnea. Blackout curtains, a white noise machine, or earplugs may also help you limit nightly sleep disruptions.
• Cut back on caffeine and alcohol. Both caffeine and alcohol can contribute to poor quality sleep, especially if you consume them any time during the last couple of hours before you go to bed.

Do You Need Sleep Testing?

What if you are doing everything you can to get adequate high-quality rest each night, but you still find that you’re continually tired? You may need to undergo a sleep test. During a sleep test, a machine monitors your breathing, heartrate, and other vital signs throughout the night. After an expert analyzes the data, you may be diagnosed with a sleep disorder.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is one of the most common conditions that robs people of their sleep. OSA causes temporary pauses in breathing throughout the night, which make it difficult if not impossible for sufferers to get enough high-quality rest. Moreover, various studies have linked OSA with a significantly increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Treatment for OSA is usually simple and may involve a CPAP machine or a custom-made oral appliance.

How are your sleep habits? If you see room for improvement, make adjustments right away. A few simple changes to your nightly routine could drastically reduce your risk of dementia!

Meet Dr. Mogell

Dr. Kenneth Mogell, a board-certified specialist in sleep medicine with over 10 years of experience treating sleep breathing disorders is the practice’s founder and primary practitioner. The practice has three South Florida locations: Melbourne, Vero Beach, and Boca Raton. To learn more about Florida Dental Sleep Disorders and Dr. Kenneth Mogell, contact our team at 844-294-7559. We accept Medicare, Tricare and most medical insurance!