Sleep Quality and Cognitive Life Expectancy in the United States

Millions worldwide suffer from sleep problems and dementia, yet effective treatments and predictions remain elusive. As populations age, these issues become increasingly critical for public health. While strong associations between sleep quality, cognitive functioning, and mortality are well-documented, the mechanisms underlying sleep's role in cognitive status and life expectancy (LE) across different cognitive states remain unclear. This study used multistate life tables and data from the Health and Retirement Study (2002-2020, N = 20,683), to quantify long-term associations between sleep and cognition/mortality for older adults. Our results show that poorer sleep quality is linked to 1.0 to 2.4 fewer years of total LE and LE with normal cognition for men and women. This study highlights the complex interplay between sleep, cognitive aging, and gender and underscores the importance of addressing sleep issues to promote healthy cognitive aging with important implications for public health policies and interventions targeting cognitive decline and dementia.