A worrying new study is warning people that there is a particular sleep habit which could actually be an early sign of dementia.
This comes as experts have raised the alarm on how this habit appears to be statistically linked to a decline in memory.
A team of researchers from the Seoul National University Bundang Hospital have looked into the way in which Isolated REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) impacts people later in life.
According to the National Institute of Health, symptoms of the disorder include ‘dream enactment behaviors, such as kicking and punching while asleep, and vivid/violent dreams’, adding: “It is now acknowledged as a prodromal phase of neurodegenerative disease - approximately 80% of people with iRBD will develop dementia with Lewy Bodies, Parkinson’s disease or another degenerative brain disease within 10 years.”
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In the study, it tracked 162 patients with the condition for around seven years and the results were shocking.
It showed a link between the disorder and a serious decline in memory and attention, with all patients who had been diagnosed with iRBD demonstrating a deterioration of their cognitive functions.
In the study, it detailed: “Gradual cognitive decline in attention/working memory and memory may represent a natural course of neurodegeneration in men with iRBD, without necessarily indicating imminent phenoconversion. Women with iRBD appeared to show greater resilience to cognitive decline compared to men.”
The study continued: “Cognitive impairment is common in isolated REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) and is considered a potential marker of phenoconversion to overt neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease or dementia with Lewy bodies.
“This study, overcoming prior limitations of short follow-up and small samples, provides long-term data demonstrating a gradual decline in attention/working memory and memory domains among people with iRBD. It also reveals sex-specific vulnerability, with men showing more pronounced decline than women, and confirms that even people with longstanding iRBD experience cognitive deterioration over time.
“These findings highlight the need for sex-specific approaches when monitoring cognitive progression in iRBD, and future studies should map distinct cognitive-decline trajectories to subsequent phenoconversion risk and clarify the mechanisms underlying the observed sex differences.”
Many have taken to social media to share their reactions to the information, with one user writing on Reddit: “Yeah lowkey my sleep doctor is hella nervous with me as someone who’s had rem sleep behavior disorder since I was 20! We stay on top of my neuro exams.”
And another added: “For all of you worried people, Parkinson's is not usually genetic, and REM Sleep Behavior Disorder is not a lack of or poor REM sleep; it's a sleep movement disorder.”