Dementia warning sign can appear decades earlier in your sleep, according to scientists

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Scientists have revealed that there is one symptom of dementia that can become noticeable years, or even decades, before other symptoms are seen.

A study has shared that this early sign could appear in your sleep a long time before any other symptoms.Dementia is typically associated with memory loss and thinking problems, but research has suggested that one more uncomfortable part of sleep may be an early indicator of the disease.

Published in The Lancet journal, scientists believe that having nightmares could be an early warning sign.Dr Abidemi Otaiku, from the University of Birmingham which led the investigation, said: "We’ve demonstrated for the first time that distressing dreams, or nightmares, can be linked to dementia risk and cognitive decline among healthy adults in the general population, reports the Express."This is important because there are very few risk indicators for dementia that can be identified as early as middle age.

While more work needs to be done to confirm these links, we believe bad dreams could be a useful way to identify individuals at high risk of developing dementia, and put in place strategies to slow down the onset of disease.”Three community-based cohorts in the US were examined as part of the study, which included more than 600 men and women aged between the ages 35 and 64, along with 2,600 adults aged 79 and over.