Memory problems may be linked to sleep

RALEIGH, N.C., Oct. 16 (UPI) -- African-American seniors who have trouble falling asleep are at higher risk of having memory problems, U.S. researchers said.

North Carolina State University researchers said the finding raises the possibility that identifying and treating sleep difficulties in the elderly may help preserve their cognitive functioning.

Psychology doctoral student Alyssa A. Gamaldo said older African-Americans who reported having trouble falling asleep tended to do much worse on memory tests than those study participants who did not have trouble falling asleep.

Gamaldo said that the difference was particularly apparent in tests related to "working memory," which is the ability to multi-task or do two things at once. The study examined 174 subjects between the ages of 65 and 90.

The researchers said the findings raise additional questions, which will have to be addressed in future research, but "it is not clear if lack of sleep is the issue. Is it the quantity of sleep, the quality of sleep, or something else altogether?"

The findings are scheduled to be published in the November issue of Research on Aging.