Doctors Warn Under-7-Hour Sleep Raises Dementia Risk, With 1 in 20 Drivers Drowsy
Updated
Updated · KPRC Click2Houston · Jun 1
Doctors Warn Under-7-Hour Sleep Raises Dementia Risk, With 1 in 20 Drivers Drowsy
5 articles · Updated · KPRC Click2Houston · Jun 1
Memorial Hermann doctors said regularly getting less than the recommended 7 to 9 hours of sleep can raise the risk of cognitive decline, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Neurologist Sudha Tallavajhula said chronic sleep loss becomes harder for the body to tolerate in people’s 40s and 50s and, over years, can contribute to brain-cell loss that cannot be reversed.
Some damage can still be improved if sleep problems are treated early, with recovery taking weeks or months depending on severity.
Roughly 1 in 20 drivers is struggling to stay awake behind the wheel, doctors said, making poor sleep a public-safety issue as well as a long-term brain-health risk.
Doctors urged people with insomnia, narcolepsy or a family history of dementia to seek sleep therapy or other treatment rather than manage the problem alone.
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