Approved Research

Evaluating associations between sleep and circadian rhythms, brain health outcomes, and mortality in the UK biobank

Lay summary

Research has shown that poor sleep is a common feature of dementia and can have a negative impact on quality of life. We now also know that poor sleep is a risk factor for later cognitive decline and the development of dementia, and other poor health outcomes such as stroke. However, it is not known which aspects of poor sleep are the biggest contributors to these poor brain health outcomes. This is important to know because there are many effective treatments for poor sleep, and this information will allow the development of targeted sleep interventions that may be effective in the prevention or delay of dementia onset. Therefore, this research proposes to examine UK biobank data to:

1. determine which aspects of sleep disturbance are associated with poor health outcomes such as dementia, stroke, and death;
2. evaluate whether there are underlying biological factors involved in any found relationships;
3. examine whether sleep disturbances are associated with various early signs of dementia as determined by MRI scans and neuropsychological performance.

This research will be crucial in informing clinical guidelines and developing dementia prevention strategies that address poor sleep.