Predictive Effects of Quality and Duration of Sleep on Cognition and CSF Biomarkers

Abstract

Current literature on the effects of sleep on cognition has shown conflicting results regarding the effects of long and short sleep duration. Using previously collected data from the Vanderbilt Memory & Aging Project, this study explored the association between sleep and cognitive functioning and cerebrospinal fluid biomarker components of Alzheimer’s disease pathophysiology in older adults with normal cognition and mild cognitive impairment. Sleep quality was hypothesized to be a better predictor of cognitive functioning and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers. The sample consisted of 66 older adults, with a mean age of 73.29. Half of the sample had mild cognitive impairment, while the other half had normal cognition. Results showed no significant predictive effects of either sleep quality or sleep duration on either cognitive measures or cerebrospinal fluid biomarker levels. However, results did show some sleep quality x diagnosis interaction effects for information processing speed, executive function and amyloid-beta levels, and sleep quality x sleep duration interaction for global cognition and amyloid-beta levels.