Overview

• A study involving 1,853 participants from the Framingham Heart Study found that sleeping nine or more hours per night is associated with reduced cognitive abilities, including memory and executive functions.
• The negative impact of long sleep duration on cognition was most pronounced in individuals with depressive symptoms, regardless of whether they were using antidepressants.
• Researchers emphasized that sleep may be a modifiable risk factor for cognitive decline, particularly among those with depression.
• The study relied on self-reported sleep durations and cross-sectional analysis, which limits the ability to establish causality and may introduce recall biases.
• Experts recommend seven to eight hours of sleep per night for adults to support brain health and mitigate risks of cognitive decline and depression.