Title:Sleeping Too Little or Too Much Could Raise Risk of Dementia and Early Death, Says New Study

Scientists have found a link between sleeping too much or too little and developing dementia.

科学家发现睡眠过多或过少与发展为痴呆之间存在关联。

Growing evidence suggests the amount people sleep can affect their mortality rate and the risk of developing cognitive disorders such as dementia.  A team of researchers at Kyushu University in Japan wanted to unpick the apparent connection between these factors.

越来越多的证据表明，人们睡眠量会影响他们的死亡率，并影响出现认知失调症（如痴呆症）的风险。日本九州大学的一个研究小组希望消除这些因素之间的明显联系。

Their study involved 1,517 elderly people without dementia in a Japanese community. The individuals were part of a group screened for dementia prospectively in the decade following 2002. Of the total participants, 294 developed dementia, and 282 died.

他们的研究涉及日本社区1,517名没有痴呆症的老年人，这些人是2002年以后十年为痴呆症甄别组的一部分，其中294人患了痴呆症，282人死亡。

The individuals were asked to report how long they slept, and were categorized into five groups. Those who slept for fewer than five hours; between five and 6.9; seven to 7.9; eight to 9.9; and over 10.

要求这些人报告他们睡了多久，并将其分为五组。 分别为：睡不到5个小时的人; 介于5和6.9小时之间; 7至7.9小时; 8至9.9小时; 超过10个小时。

A new study has investigated the potential link between how much we sleep and the risk that we will develop dementia.   Getty Images

一项新的研究已经调查了我们睡了多少和我们将患老年痴呆症的风险之间的潜在联系。

The risk of dementia and early mortality was  "significantly greater"  in those who slept fewer than five hours or more than 10 hours, compared to those who sleep between five to 6.9 hours. Participants who used sleeping pills, regardless of how long they slept, had a higher risk of death or dementia than those who didn't and slept between five to 6.9 hours. The risks remained when the data was adjusted to take into account the age and sex of the participants.

与5至6.9小时的睡眠者相比，睡不到5小时或10小时以上的人患老年痴呆和早期死亡的风险大大增加。使用安眠药的参加者，不管他们睡多长时间，都比未睡5至6.9小时的人更易死亡、痴呆。当调整数据以考虑到参与者的年龄和性别时，风险依然存在。

But the risk was lower in individuals who were physically active. High physical activity was defined in the study as  "engaging in moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity at work or regular exercise."

但是，身体活跃者的体能危险性较低，研究将高体能活动定义为"在工作或正常运动中从事中度至强度的体育活动"。

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The authors concluded that given the benefits of physical activity for a good night's sleep, their findings indicate that not only sleeping for the correct amount of type but adopting behaviors like exercising "may be an effective strategy for preventing dementia and premature death in elderly adults."

作者得出结论认为，考虑到体力活动对整晚睡的好处，他们的研究结果表明，不仅能正常睡眠，而且能采取像运动这样的行为“可能是预防老年痴呆和早死的有效策略”。

Last month, a new study involving around 500 adults with dementia found that moderate- to high-intensity exercise does not, on its own, ease the symptoms of the condition.

上个月，一项涉及约500名老年痴呆症患者的新研究发现，中等强度和高强度的锻炼本身并不能缓解病情症状。

Professor Sarah Lamb, lead author of the study published in the British Medical Journal, told The Guardian at the time she was  "disappointed"  but not surprised by the findings, as dementia is a  "difficult problem to fix."

《英国医学杂志》上发表的研究报告的主要作者Sarah Lamb教授对《卫报》说，当时她“失望”，但没有对调查结果感到惊讶，因为痴呆症是一种“难以解决的难题”。

"We don't want to alarm members of the public with dementia and their families. We used a very specialized exercise program. We know that gentle exercise is good for you. We don't want people to stop what they are doing,"  she said.

她说：“我们不想用痴呆症通知市民和他们的家人，我们用非常专业的锻炼计划。我们知道，温柔的锻炼对你有好处，我们不希望人们停止他们的行为。”

Dr. James Pickett, head of research at U.K.-based charity the Alzheimer's Society, told Newswee: "Most people with dementia find that a poor night's sleep affects their ability to think the following day. This is a short term effect – what we don't know is if recurrent poor sleep over a longer period of time increases our risk of dementia."

英国慈善机构Alzheimer协会研究主管James Pickett博士对新闻wee说：“大多数痴呆症患者发现，一夜的睡眠不足会影响他们第二天思考的能力。这是一个短期效果？我们不知道的是，长时间反复的睡眠不足会增加我们患老年痴呆症的风险。

He explained this new research implies there might be an ideal number of hours' sleep to prevent dementia, but other emerging research suggests that quality of sleep might be more important than the quantity.

他解释说，这项新的研究意味着可能有一个理想的睡眠时间数来预防痴呆，但是其他新兴的研究表明，睡眠质量可能比数量更重要。

Dr Pickett added: "In fact, our researchers at the UK Dementia Research Institute are looking at this relationship, delving not only into the importance of quality versus quantity of shut-eye, but also what happens in our brains when we get a good night's rest."

皮克特博士补充说：“事实上，英国痴呆症研究所的研究人员正在研究这种关系，不仅要探讨质量与闭眼数量之重要性，当我们好好休息一天时，我们的大脑里发生了什么事。

This piece has been updated with comment from Dr. James Pickett.

本文经过詹姆斯·皮凯特博士的评论,予以更新.