Health & Science

e latest research now indicates that time spent in bed and bedtime may impact dementia risk. ose aged 60-74 were most a ected.

Previous research also highlighted the role of sleep quality in memory and dementia.

Sleep can in uence physical and mental health and is linked to conditions from heart disease and stroke to depression and obesity.

And a new study published in the Journal Of e Geriatrics Society has provided further insights into sleep’s role in dementia.

Researchers in China, Sweden, and the UK looked at sleep data of 1,982 Chinese individuals with an average age of 70 — none of whom presented with symptoms of dementia at the start of the study.

An average of 3.7 years later, 97 participants (5%) had been diagnosed with dementia according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) criteria. ose primarily a ected were aged between 60 and 74. Men were also at higher risk, which contradicts what many other dementia researchers have previously found.

“In most studies, women are known to have a twofold greater risk of dementia than men. It is unusual that this study found the opposite,” said Dr Alex Dimitriu, founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine and BrainfoodMD. e research revealed that timing is critical. e study found that longer time spent in bed (TIB) was associated with signi cantly increased dementia risk. ose in bed for more than 8 hours were far more likely to show a cognitive decline during a Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) — a test used

Lose weight

In one study, overweight people who drank one or two ounces of vinegar (diluted with other liquid) lost weight at a slightly faster rate. And they lost belly fat. But there’s no evidence that lots of vinegar will help you drop lots of pounds, or do it quickly.

Lower blood sugar

Vinegar can help someone with diabetes control the amount of glucose in their blood after a meal as well as their A1c, a measure of “average” blood sugar for the past few months. It won’t cure diabetes or take the place of prescribed medications. But a couple of teaspoons in water or food at mealtime can help, as long as you don’t have kidney disease. High blood sugar over time can lead to heart disease, kidney disease, stroke, and blindness.

Time spent in bed linked to dementia

to measure cognitive impairment.

So why might older people need to spend more time in bed?

“As we get older, we see a fragmentation of the sleep states,” said Dr Michael Breus, a sleep specialist and clinical psychologist. is means “that we don’t seem to get the same type of physically restoring sleep (stages 3/4) as we did when we were younger.”

As such, “it’s possible that people with poorer quality sleep may require more sleep time to compensate,” said Dr Dimitriu.

Other factors can play a role, too. Depression (for which older adults are at greater risk) can make sleeping di cult “But there are also many other medical conditions (such as heart disease or diabetes) and the

The health benefits of vinegar

medications taken for them that can increase tiredness and sleep requirements,” he said. e time individuals went to bed was also highlighted by researchers as a critical contributing factor. Early-mid evening hours were deemed riskiest. e research paper stated that “every one hour advance in bedtime [before 10 pm] was associated with a 25% in-

you eat. Your cells need this hormone to take glucose from your blood to use for energy. But too much insulin released too often can make your body less sensitive to it — a condition called insulin resistance that can lead to type 2 diabetes or make it worse.

Fighting germs

Apple cider vinegar — any vinegar, really — will kill some germs because of the acetic acid in it. It works best in your food — to clean up bacteria lingering on your salad leaves, for example. It’s not very good at disinfecting a cut or wound. And because it’s an acid, there’s a chance it could chemically burn delicate skin.

Dandru

It’s long been suggested — for di erent reasons — as a rinse to tame a aking scalp. But there’s no evidence to con rm that vinegar kills yeast bacteria or fungus, or that it removes shampoo residue or product buildup, or that it makes your scalp more acidic (or why you’d even want that). Stick to products made to treat dandru , and follow the instructions. If the problem doesn’t clear up, see a dermatologist.

Whiten teeth

Vinegar may brighten your teeth, but it also wears away their enamel — the thin, hard, outer layer of protection. In fact, wait for at least 30 minutes after you eat or drink diluted vinegar to brush your teeth. If your teeth are discoloured, look for whitening toothpaste or products approved by dentists or talk to your dentist.

Healthy gut

at murky, thicker liquid that collects at the bottom of some vinegars, called the “mother,” is made up of the fermenting bacteria and their harmless waste. Most brands warm vinegar to kill the bacteria before packaging, but mother can develop once air hits the product. Some say the mother gives vinegar more health bene ts because the live bacteria act as probiotics, but there’s no scienti c evidence yet.

Protect your cells

Polyphenols are chemical compounds in fruits, vegetables, wine, co ee, and chocolate. ey’re antioxidants, which protect your cells from damage linked to cancer and other disease. ere’s no reason to think the polyphenols in apple cider vinegar can’t be just as helpful, but we need more studies to be sure.

Curb your appetite

When vinegar was served with white bread for breakfast, people said they were more satis ed afterward. But when vinegar was served with cream of wheat, made from a more complex grain that takes longer to digest, it made less of a di erence, and the fuller feeling didn’t last very long. Stay tuned on this one.

creased risk of dementia.” e study authors hypothesised that earlier bedtimes could be driven by disrupted circadian rhythm.

“Parts of the brain responsible for managing sleep start to change as we age. is impacts our circadian rhythm cycles,” said Dr. David Rabin, PhD, a neuroscientist, board-certi ed psychiatrist.

Age-related factors, such as having to use the bathroom more frequently during the night, also “impact us getting good quality and deep sleep,” continued Rabin. Accumulative sleep deprivation “results in a change in brain structures that regulate circadian cycles”.

Other in uences might also be at play, said Dr Dimitriu.

“It is possible that people with early stages of dementia experience earlier brain fatigue in the day, leading them to want to sleep earlier,” he said. “‘Sundowning’ is a well-known e ect in older people prone to dementia, where they can become confused and disoriented in the evenings.”

One of the main drawbacks to the research is that time in bed doesn’t necessarily re ect the time spent asleep. Sleep duration has been noted by scientists as a crucial factor in cognitive health and dementia risk.

Such time could indicates an underlying sleep-related issue, such as insomnia, which “could be a ecting this situation and making it worse”.

A recent Canadian study also highlighted that those with insomnia were at higher risk of memory loss.

Furthermore, time in bed doesn’t consider the quality of a person’s sleep — also regarded as important in cognition and dementia. For instance, not getting enough deep sleep can greatly impact memory. ere’s one nal consideration to bear in mind.

“ is study, as well as many others like it, are association studies and, as such, do not show cause and e ect,” explained Bazil.

“So it is never clear whether the observed association (in this case, short or long times in bed or sleep onset time) actually causes dementia, or is indirectly related to it,” he said.