Research suggests that the quality of your sleep can determine whether you develop dementia

Dementia is one of the diseases that mostly keeps researchers and health authorities awake at night. This condition is characterized by deterioration of the central nervous system, which impairs a person’s quality of life.

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A patient with dementia loses cognitive and social skills, as well as dependence on care in more advanced cases. The problem is that the condition is chronic and there is no cure for it yet.

Sleep disturbances can signal dementia years before

On this topic, research from the Mayo Clinic has shown that dementia may be related to our disorders. In this case, the researchers noted that changes in the deepest stage of sleep, known as REM, may be linked to dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB).

DCL is a type of disease characterized by abnormal deposition of proteins in nerve cells. Symptoms include memory loss, confusion, and difficulty remembering, understanding, thinking, and communicating.

People who have difficulty sleeping peacefully, screaming or tossing, or waking up in vivid dreams may be at greater risk of developing dementia. The study showed that men with these symptoms are up to 5 times more likely to develop DCL.

Disease alert

According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), it is expected that by the same year, there will be 150 million people with dementia in the world. Currently, this group consists of about 50 million. This means that the increase could be three times greater.

Brazil is not prepared for this number of dementia sufferers

First, it is important to stress that dementia is a disorder that impairs the cognitive ability of humans. This means that people with the problem have a deterioration in their cognitive function. For practical purposes, it would be more like a comparison to a type of Alzheimer’s disease, in which the person has problems with memory, and difficulties with learning and understanding the world.

In people over 80 years of age, the problem can appear in about 45% of Brazilians. This indicates the need for public policies for prevention and awareness. In the more advanced stages, a person with dementia requires basic care to be able to go to the bathroom and even eat.

According to a survey conducted by the University of São Paulo (USP), 7 factors contribute to 32% of cases in the country:

• low educational level;
• Hypertension.
• obesity;
• diabetes;
• sedentary lifestyle;
• depression; that it
• smoking.

Other studies show that nearly half of all cases could be avoided if there were effective disease awareness and prevention programs in the world.

The truth is that experts warn that Brazil does not have the necessary infrastructure to deal with the gradual increase in dementia in the coming years. Actions must be taken with the intention of control and prevention.