importance of sleep essay intro

The Role of Sleep in Humans’ Well-Being Essay

Introduction, brief summaries of videos, the valuable information obtained from videos.

Sleep is considered one of the most important parts of any individual’s life. Some researchers emphasize the usefulness of sleep for productivity, while others focus on its impact on people’s health. The present paper will offer several different opinions on the role that sleep plays in the satisfaction of humans’ well-being. A brief overview of four videos will be followed by a discussion of the lessons that should be taken from the speeches.

Each of the speakers in the videos focuses on a different characteristic of sleep, but all of them agree that without enough sleep, one does not perform to the fullest potential. Arianna Huffington (2010) analyzes sleep as a crucial constituent of happiness. In her speech, Huffington (2010) mentions that sleep deprivation can lead to detrimental outcomes and describes her own negative example of not receiving enough rest. The speaker remarks that women are more likely to arrange the revolution of sleep because, for men, sleep deprivation has become “a virility symbol” (Huffington, 2010). Thus, this speech stresses the importance of sleep and considers women as the most probable change agents in the sleep revolution.

Another speech given by a woman is not focused on feminism. Jessa Gamble (2010) considers sleep as a vital element of humans’ body clocks. In her presentation, Gamble (2010) offers several examples of how people’s sleep habits are correspondent with animals’ chemical clocks. Sleep is thus associated with culture, and the role of sleep in the establishment of a healthy lifestyle is underlined in the speech.

The other two videos present researchers’ talks on sleep and its functions. Russel Foster (2013), a neuroscientist, explains why people need sleep and what can happen when they disregard this vital behavioral experience. In his speech, Foster (2013) provides numerous examples of how people treated sleep at different times and notes that individuals’ ignorance about sleep is too big. Therefore, from the neuroscientist’s point of view, not only the duration of sleep but also its quality is highly important.

The last speech is focused on unique functions of the brain that can only be performed while one is asleep. Jeff Iliff (2014) remarks that during sleep, brain vessels “clear away waste,” which is impossible to do while being awake. Thus, it is crucial for people to have enough sleep for their brain to receive time for restoration. Appropriate brain rest helps to avoid serious disease and enables individuals to discover the full potential of their brain.

Although all speakers analyze sleep from different points of view, they all agree that it is highly significant for people to have a sufficient amount of rest. The videos give information on the value of sleep for health, safety, happiness, academic achievement, and other aspects without which it would be impossible for individuals to live successfully. The most crucial data is given by Iliff (2014) and Foster (2013). These two speakers provide a detailed account of neurological processes taking place in the brain and explain a variety of functions that sleep deprivation can obstruct or eliminate. In particular, scholars remark that the brain does not sleep when the organism is resting. A variety of genes work only during sleep (Foster, 2013; Iliff, 2014). Therefore, sleep is needed not only for restoration but also for the productive work of the organism on the next day. Both Iliff (2014) and Foster (2013) compare the need to clear the brain at night to the need to clean one’s house. Neither of the two kinds of “chores” can be put off for a long time since postponing them would cause inconvenience and discomfort. Thus, from the scientific point of view, sleep is highly important for the brain.

Irrespective of their profession and connection with science, all four speakers emphasize the positive effect of sleep on the well-being of any person. Huffington (2010) mentions that having enough sleep makes individuals more inspired and productive. Gamble (2010) remarks that a body clock is crucial for organizing one’s life successfully. Iliff (2014) notes that the clarity of the mind helps to sustain one’s body in harmony. Foster (2013) explains that at every age, people’s sleep needs are different, but these requirements are frequently higher than people allow themselves to spend sleeping. Particular attention is paid to the negative impact of shift work on one’s sleep pattern (Foster, 2013; Gambler, 2010). Therefore, all speakers urge the audience to review their attitude to sleep and start having enough rest to become healthier and happier.

Sleep is a rather significant component of any individual’s existence. The videos give insight into the most intricate aspects of neural processes and explain why it is not acceptable to sleep too little. All speakers focus on the importance of sleep for people’s health, productivity, and happiness. Watching these videos helps to realize how thoughtless people sometimes are and how necessary it is for them to alter some of their habits in order to be strong both physically and morally.

Foster, R. (2013). Why do we sleep? [Video file]. Web.

Gamble, J. (2010). Our natural sleep cycle is nothing like what we do now . [Video file]. Web.

Huffington, A. (2010). How to succeed? Get more sleep [Video file]. Web.

Iliff, J. (2014). One more reason to get a good night’s sleep [Video file]. Web.

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IvyPanda. (2021, June 19). The Role of Sleep in Humans' Well-Being. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-role-of-sleep-in-humans-well-being/

"The Role of Sleep in Humans' Well-Being." IvyPanda , 19 June 2021, ivypanda.com/essays/the-role-of-sleep-in-humans-well-being/.

IvyPanda . (2021) 'The Role of Sleep in Humans' Well-Being'. 19 June.

IvyPanda . 2021. "The Role of Sleep in Humans' Well-Being." June 19, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-role-of-sleep-in-humans-well-being/.

1. IvyPanda . "The Role of Sleep in Humans' Well-Being." June 19, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-role-of-sleep-in-humans-well-being/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "The Role of Sleep in Humans' Well-Being." June 19, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-role-of-sleep-in-humans-well-being/.

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Sleep: A Very Short Introduction

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Sleep: A Very Short Introduction addresses the biological and psychological aspects of sleep. What is sleep? Why do we need it? How much is enough? What is the impact of modern society on sleep? We spend about a third of our lives asleep. References to sleep abound in literature and art, sleep has been recognized as fundamental to the human condition. Over the past century, our knowledge of sleep has developed hugely. The impact of poor sleep on our quality of life is gaining recognition and the prevalence of sleep disorders in the population is increasing as we live ever stressful lives.

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Essay on Importance of Sleep

Students are often asked to write an essay on Importance of Sleep in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Importance of Sleep

Understanding sleep.

Sleep is a crucial part of our lives. It helps us rest, rejuvenate, and prepare for the next day. Without sleep, our bodies and minds cannot function properly.

Why is Sleep Important?

Sleep contributes to our overall health. It allows our brain to process information and memories. It also gives our body time to repair and grow.

Effects of Lack of Sleep

Lack of sleep can lead to health issues like heart disease and obesity. It also affects our mood, making us feel irritable and stressed.

So, quality sleep is essential for our well-being. Make sleep a priority to stay healthy and happy.

250 Words Essay on Importance of Sleep

The necessity of sleep.

Sleep, often overlooked in our fast-paced society, is a fundamental aspect of human health and well-being. Its importance extends beyond merely banishing under-eye circles or boosting mood; it is an essential part of our biological function.

Role in Physical Health

Sleep plays a significant role in the body’s healing and repair processes, particularly for the heart and blood vessels. Chronic sleep deficiency is linked to heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke. Furthermore, it aids in maintaining a healthy balance of hormones that regulate feelings of hunger and satiety, thereby indirectly influencing our body weight and food choices.

Cognitive Function and Emotional Well-being

Sleep is vital for various aspects of brain function. This includes cognition, concentration, productivity, and performance. During sleep, your brain forms new pathways to help you learn and remember information. A good night’s sleep improves problem-solving skills and enhances memory. Lack of sleep impairs these functions, leading to decreased productivity and increased mistakes.

The Impact on Mental Health

Sleep deficiency has been linked to an increased risk of developing mental health disorders, including depression, anxiety, and mood swings. Sleep helps reset our emotional brain circuits, allowing us to manage daily stress and adapt to change.

In conclusion, sleep is not a luxury, but a necessity. It’s a vital part of our lives that impacts our physical health, cognitive function, emotional well-being, and overall quality of life. Recognizing the importance of sleep and making necessary adjustments to prioritize it is a crucial step towards improved health and productivity.

500 Words Essay on Importance of Sleep

The importance of sleep: an underrated aspect of health.

Sleep, often overlooked, is a crucial aspect of our overall health and well-being. In our fast-paced society, sleep is frequently sacrificed for more seemingly productive activities, however, this neglect can have serious health consequences.

The Science of Sleep

Sleep is not merely a passive state where the body is at rest. It is a complex physiological process where essential activities occur. During sleep, the body undergoes repair and rejuvenation, and the brain processes and integrates information gathered throughout the day. Sleep is divided into two distinct types: Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep and Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) sleep. Each stage has specific functions, with NREM sleep primarily involved in physical restoration and REM sleep associated with memory consolidation and brain development.

The Health Implications of Sleep Deprivation

Chronic sleep deprivation can lead to a host of health problems. Physically, it can increase the risk of conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. It weakens the immune system, making one more susceptible to infections. Neurologically, lack of sleep can impair cognition, memory, and mood. Studies have shown that sleep deprivation can lead to decreased concentration, memory lapses, loss of creativity, and mood swings. Furthermore, chronic sleep deprivation has been linked to mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety.

Sleep and Academic Performance

For college students, sleep is especially important. Numerous studies have demonstrated a correlation between sleep and academic performance. Adequate sleep can enhance learning and memory, improve concentration, and boost creativity, all of which are crucial for academic success. Conversely, sleep deprivation can impede these cognitive functions, leading to decreased academic performance.

Improving Sleep Quality

Given the importance of sleep, it is essential to prioritize it and adopt good sleep hygiene practices. These include maintaining a regular sleep schedule, creating a sleep-friendly environment, avoiding stimulating activities before bedtime, and addressing any underlying sleep disorders.

In conclusion, sleep is a crucial aspect of health that is often undervalued. The implications of sleep deprivation are far-reaching, affecting physical health, mental health, and cognitive functions. As college students, it is essential to prioritize sleep to maintain overall health and optimize academic performance. By understanding the importance of sleep and adopting good sleep hygiene practices, we can reap the benefits of this vital physiological process.

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The Importance of Sleep by Kealey

Kealeyof Logan 's entry into Varsity Tutor's July 2017 scholarship contest

The Importance of Sleep by Kealey - July 2017 Scholarship Essay

Sleep is one of the most important aspects of our lives. For many, sleep is too often undervalued. But when all's said and done, we should place sleep as a higher priority in our lives because it enhances our physical and cognitive performance, improves our memory, and supports survival mechanisms. Sleep provides cognitive and physical health benefits that allow the human body to function more properly. I personally perform better in all aspects of life if I receive adequate amounts of sleep. Because of this, I strive to be in bed by my set bedtime (no later than 10:30 pm). There are instances, specifically on the weekend that I stay up later. In contrast, my father does not get enough sleep. During my teenage years, he would consistently go to bed around 11 pm or midnight and wake up at either 3:00 or 4:00 am. The reality of the need for sleep finally sunk in when my dad was diagnosed with Pseudotumor cerebri, or swelling of the optic nerve. Other health problems escalated as an after effect. Although there are no known causes of this condition, the doctors suggested that inadequate amounts of sleep may have been a contributing factor. In findings reported by the National Institution of Health,sleep is necessary to heal and repair the body’s immune functions, regulate a healthy balance of hormones, and also aids in growth and development. Like my father, sometimes the suffering presents itself in extremities. But more often than not, little things such as the common cold or flu affect those that don’t get enough sleep more. Because sleep is individualized, a person must ensure they get adequate amounts of sleep for proper physical functioning on a daily basis. Not only does sleep affect our physical abilities, it can enhance our overall mental abilities. In general, humans function better when they get enough sleep. Dr. Ferraro and Dr. Genarro, two Italian sleep psychologists, suggest a direct correlation indicating that performance ability declines as the number of hours of sleep declines. During sleep the brain builds and strengthens neurological pathways. When not enough sleep occurs, a person increases their risk of developing mental illnesses such as depression. Thus, this evidence provides support for doctors and therapists who suggest sleep as a remedy, both to cure physical and cognitive illnesses. Sleep also affects our memory. Being able to remember, retain, and recall are the three “Rs” to memory. The human memory relies on sleep for the enhancement of these. Dr. Jan Born, and Dr. Ines Wilhelm, two German psychology professors, recently conducted a study to find the relationship between sleep and memory. Their research indicates that sleep helps convert implicit knowledge or patterns, into explicit knowledge that is retained in the brain. Memory consolidation cannot happen correctly without sleep. Born and Wilhelm also found that sleep improves long-term memory. They suggest that sleep could be the process in which newly encoded memory representations are redistributed to other neuron networks serving as long-term storage. When I practiced for piano competitions in high school and attempted to memorize a song, I often played it right before bed. The next day, I could recall the music better compared to practicing it in the early afternoon. Thus, sleep becomes a beneficiary factor for memory. Sleep is not an independent variable. In fact, although sleep is important, there are many other things that are necessary to having a well-balanced life. Culture, family, work, social life, and values all determine one’s way of living. Despite the situations that make up a person’s life, sleep deserves greater prioritization. Dr. Michael Colgan, a world-wide renowned research scientist relates, “Sleep could be considered more important than food in maintaining physical and cognitive health if water supply is sufficient.” Sleep acts as as a survival tool, when not put to use, it can cause serious work-related and life-threatening crises. In 2005, The National Sleep Foundation found about 60% of all drivers have driven drowsy, furthermore 100,000 car accidents are sleep related. This included 1550 deaths and 71,000 injuries. This lack of sleep is a weapon: the sleep deficient driver becomes the offender, and other drivers on the road become the victims. Detecting drowsy driving tends to be more difficult to detect than things such as seat belt usage or driving under the influence. But, sleep deprivation and fatigue make lapses of attention more likely to occur. Sleep is a major factor that potentially saves lives. Even with the productivity of our society, Americans need to place a greater importance on sleep. Sleep is beneficial to maintaining and improving our cognitive and physical performances, memory functions, and acts a survival mechanism. As Russell Foster put it “Sleep is the golden chain that ties all aspects of health [and life] together.” If we placed sleep as a greater importance in our society, there would be less accidents, injuries, illnesses, and overall greater happiness levels. Take the initiative and start today to get enough sleep; crawl into your pajamas, and snuggle on into your bed for a full night's sleep.

Why Do We Need Sleep?: InFormative Speech

Introduction.

• Title: Why do we need sleep?
• General purpose: To emphasize the importance of proper sleep behavior.
• Specific purpose: To enumerate the basic functions of sleep.
• Main idea: Sleep refills the body with energy and helps the brain function properly.

Have you ever wondered about the role of sleep? In your experience, you probably noticed that without proper sleep, it is difficult to concentrate and remain energetic. It is important to be aware of the basic functions of sleep to understand its significance for health and well-being.

In the modern world, insufficient sleep is a widespread problem for people of different ages. Therefore, many studies related to the role of sleep have been conducted in the sphere of psychology and medicine, and further, some of the aspects of sleep will be covered in detail. This speech aims to identify the functions of sleep and prove the importance of an adequate sleep-wake schedule.

Sleep contributes to organizing information received during the day. During sleep, the brain processes a human’s emotions and memories (McBurney et al., 2020). During sleep, the brain reorganizes the information by forming connections between neurons (McBurney et al., 2020). This function is essential for maintaining memory and learning ability.

Sleep helps get rid of tiredness and remain healthy and energetic. The function of sleep is to recover the body and prepare it for the next day (Bennis, 2020). Sufficient sleep reduces the risk of anxiety, depression, and other related effects (Leparski, 2019).

Sleep is needed to regulate biological processes happening in a human’s body. An important function of sleep is to restore hormone balance (Leparski, 2019). During sleep, the human body normalizes the level of adenosine, which is responsible for feeling fatigue (Bennis, 2020).

To summarize, it is important to understand that sleep affects different aspects of a human’s health and well-being. Firstly, during sleep, the brain processes all the information, memories, and emotions, preparing itself for the next day. Secondly, the human body gets rid of fatigue and averts stress and depression. Finally, sleep normalizes biological processes and restores hormone balance. Therefore, it is necessary for every person to pay attention to a sleep-wake schedule to remain healthy and energetic.

Bennis, T. (2020). Overthinking, photographic memory, habit stacking . Vaclav Vrbensky.

Leparski, S. (2019). The happy hormone guide: A plant-based program to balance hormones, increase energy, & reduce PMS symptoms. Blue Star Press.

McBurney, J.W., Weil, A.T., & Ruhoy, I.S. (Eds.). (2020). Integrative neurology . Oxford University Press.

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The Importance of Sleep

Constantly tired, grey faces with red, puffy eyes, hands holding cups loaded with caffeine… Lack of sleep seems to be a plague among the modern youth. We live in a constant rush, our schedules are overflowing with various tasks and responsibilities, and rest usually ends up as the lowest priority on our lists. People tend to underestimate the importance of good-quality sleep, without realising the consequences. Moreover, many of us don’t know what “quality sleep” even means – how long we should sleep, how to make sure we actually get enough rest and how to take care of appropriate sleep hygiene. This article will be your first step to finally getting a good night’s sleep.

First things first – do you know why sleep is so important? We all know that sleep is the time when our body and brain regenerate. Let's get down to a bit of science: it is the time when your heart and blood vessels heal and repair, protecting you from heart and kidney diseases, strokes and low blood pressure. Sleep is also an important factor for lowering the risk of diabetes, as it affects how your body reacts to insulin (the hormone that controls your blood sugar level).

If you still don’t feel convinced, good sleep can help you maintain appropriate body weight! Have you noticed that when you are sleepy, you are also more prone to reaching for comfort foods instead of healthy, nutritious meals?  Night time is when your body produces hormones, including ghrelin and leptin – hormones responsible for feeling hungry and full. What this actually means is that sleep deprivation lowers your metabolism, making you more likely to gain weight.

Good sleep is important for your mind as well. Obviously, feeling well-rested affects your mood, response time, and efficiency at work. Studies show that sleep has a crucial impact on activity in some parts of the brain. If you're tired, you may have trouble making decisions, solving problems, controlling your emotions and behaviour, and coping with change.

Now that you know why you should always get enough sleep, it’s time to find out how. Have you ever wondered how much sleep is “enough”? Or if there is such a thing as too much sleep? For an adult, the appropriate amount is between 7 and 9 hours. This means that sleeping over 9 hours per day can actually be bad for you. Oversleeping has similar effects to sleep deprivation: over time it can also lead to diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. More common effects of sleeping too much are headaches, lack of energy or depression. Sounds familiar? Remember that anything in excess is bad.

It’s not only how much sleep you get that’s important – if the quality of sleep is not right, you will not get its full benefits. There are a few tricks that can help you get as much rest as possible. You need to take care of a proper sleep hygiene. Firstly, remember that your bed should be reserved for sleep only – if you have a habit of working or eating in bed you should try to move it to somewhere else. Studies prove that separating workspace and sleeping space can help you fall asleep faster and sleep better throughout the night. And there’s bad news for those addicted to phones – the blue light from the screen disrupts natural sleep patterns by affecting melatonin (sleep hormone) levels. Does avoiding touching your phone and laptop for two hours before sleep sound impossible? At least switch all of your devices to night shift mode – it gives a yellow tint to your display, minimising the negative effect on your hormones. If your device doesn’t have a built-in night mode, you can try Twiligh t (for Android) or f.lux (for Windows).

If you have trouble falling asleep, you should try going to bed and waking up around the same time each day. It might be challenging, especially during weekends, but once you establish a routine, waking up early during the week becomes much easier.  Humans are creatures of habit, so having a nice bedtime routine – a time for you to unwind, relax, and get ready for bed - is the first step to good quality sleep. You can pick out an outfit and pack your bag for the following day, have a nice, warm bath, listen to some music, set time to read a book… try out what works best for you and stick to it!

Maybe it sounds like a lot of restrictions, hard to keep up with when you have a fully packed schedule and tight deadlines –  but still, sleep should be a priority. You’ll be much more efficient finishing everything in your crowded schedule with a rested brain, good energy, and positive attitude – not to mention that after a full night of sleep, those busy days will also feel better. Don’t you think it is worth sacrificing one thing in order to get proper rest? In the long run, it will bring you much more benefit and help you manage your time and tasks better. Good luck – and sleep well!

P.S. You can read up more about the science of sleep here .

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• Importance of sleep

The importance of sleep

1. The preparation

Yawning, burning and heavy eyelids - these are clear symptoms that you are getting tired. It is how your body tells you, after a period of mental and physical activity, that it needs rest.

2. Falling asleep

We slowly become less aware of our surroundings. A distinctive characteristic is that quick eye movements switch to slow, rolling movements. When we fall asleep our body temperature decreases. To make this happen our body releases water (transpiration) which evaporates on the skin. That is why adequate ventilation of your bedroom, mattress and bed is important.

Sleep itself consists of several cycles After each cycle there is a transition stage, during which we wake up momentarily. On average we wake up about seven to ten times every night, usually without being aware of it.

Within each cycle of about 1.5 hours, you go through the following 3 phases:

• Light sleep : he first stage of sleep is light and short.  You only go through this stage a few times every night. When you get to this phase for the first time, your thoughts slowly subside and your muscles start to relax.  Then your heart rate slows down and your body temperature drops.
• Deep sleep : After about 20 minutes your body and brain become extremely relaxed. At his point your brain activity reaches its lowest point. This stage is also referred to as 'deep sleep'. During this deep sleep the chance that you wake up spontaneously is only small and you will be difficult to wake. Deep sleep is very important for your physical and mental recovery and health.
• REM sleep : After about 30 minutes in deep sleep something strange happens: your brain and body move quickly, instead of relaxing your heart rate accelerates, your breathing becomes superficial and your eyes jump from left to right. You are now in your REM sleep - named after these Rapid Eye Movements. This is also the phase when you have dreams. You wake up momentarily and you start a new cycle and go through the different phases again.

4. Waking up

In the early morning hours proportionally less deep sleep phases occur, allowing for the transition to waking up to take place more gradually. When you wake up, your body temperature rises. Your body does this, as if your biological clock were switching on the heating.

What happens when we sleep?

• During our sleep our brain is active, but not in the same way as when we are awake. Quite similar to some kind of maintenance process. All the information that came in during the day is now processed and information is filed away or deleted.
• Sleeping gives the body the possibility to recover from the efforts done during the day. The production of the growth hormone reaches a peak, the cell division rate increases and we top up our mental reserves.
• During our sleep our muscles rest. Muscles are used whole day long, or large parts of the day.
• You move during your sleep, you turn around about 30 times per night. And you need that movement. Lying still for too long causes pressure on your body, which may result in irritations after some time.
• People dream about two hours every night, although most people remember little or nothing about their dreams in the morning. We have an average of five dreams per night, but people can generally remember only one or two dreams each week.

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kelibzon - / 1   Dec 7, 2013   #3 Introduction A recent survey revealed that a large number of people sleep less than six hours each night, and that 75 percent of people encounter sleep difficulties a few nights a week. While a short-lived insomnia should not be of much concern, chronic sleep loss can lead to a myriad health problems including high blood pressure, weight gain, low immune system and much more. This essay explains the different ways in which sleep is important. The Importance of Sleep Mental and Emotional Well being Sleep promotes a healthy brain functioning and emotional well being. When one sleeps, the brain is able to commit new information to the memory via a process known as memory consolidation. Studies show that individuals who slept after learning a new task performed well in tests than those who did not. Children and teens that are sleep-deficient are likely to encounter problems when it comes to getting along with their peers. They may feel impulsive and angry, feel sad, have mood swings, lack motivation or feel depressed (NIH, 2012). Mood Enhancement, Metabolism and Weight Control Sleep determines an individual's mood. Sleep loss may lead to irritability, lack of concentration, impatience, and moodiness. Inadequate sleep can also make one fatigued and unable to handle their normal tasks. This therefore means that sleep can help to boost one's mood, improve their concentration and put them in the right frame of mind to perform the normal tasks (Harvard Health Publications, 2006). Sleep helps in metabolism and weight control. Prolonged sleep deprivation can result to weight gain as it affects the processing and storage of carbohydrates in the body besides altering the hormone levels that affect one's appetite (Harvard Health Publications, 2006). Safety and Alertness Sleep enhances safety and alertness when performing different tasks. Sleep debt increases the tendency of falling asleep or feeling drowsy at daytime. Such lapses may result to falls and other mistakes such as air traffic mishaps, medical errors, and road accidents. Studies indicate that sleep deficiency weakens one's ability to drive as much as, or even more than drinking does. Precisely, driver sleepiness is responsible for about 100,000 motor vehicle accidents every year, which results in around 1500 deaths (NIH, 2012). Improves Cardiovascular Health Sleep improves cardiovascular health and reduces the risks of suffering from heart related conditions such as hypertension, irregular heartbeat and many more (Harvard Health Publications, 2006). Hormonal Balance Sleep creates a healthy balance of those hormones that make one to feel full (leptin) or hungry (ghrelin). Inadequate sleep increases the level of ghlerin and lowers the level of leptin. This makes one to feel hungrier than when they are well-rest. Sleep enhances good growth and development. For instance, deep sleep will trigger the body to release a hormone responsible for the promotion of normal growth in teens and children. Besides, this hormone boosts the muscle mass and helps in the repair of tissues and cells in teens, children and adults. Sleep plays a critical role in fertility and puberty too (NIH, 2012). Boosts the Immune System Moreover, sleeping improves the immune system, which is the body's natural defense against ailments. Thus, sleep deprivation can alter the immune function and make one susceptible to a number of diseases. According to medical study, newborns should sleep for 16-18 hours each day; preschool- and school-aged children should sleep for 11-12 hours and 10 hours per day respectively. Teens should spend 9-10 hours a day sleeping and adults should sleep for 7 to 8 hours every day (NIH, 2012). Conclusion Sleep enhances the mental and emotional well being of children, teens and grownups. Sleep controls metabolism and weight; lack of sleep can cause weight gain. Adequate sleep boosts the right mood for productivity and improves safety when performing daily tasks. Besides, sound sleep promotes hormonal balance and boosts the immune system. References Harvard Health Publications (2006). Importance of Sleep: Six Reasons not to Skrimp on Sleep. Harvard Medical School, Harvard University NIH (2012). Explore Sleep Deprivation and Deficiency: Why is Sleep Important? Department of Health and Human Services: USA Gov. Hope this helps. If you need more academic help, please let me know via kevslibama (at) gmail dot com Kelibzon

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Sleep Duration and Executive Function in Adults

• Open access
• Published: 14 November 2023
• Volume 23 , pages 801–813, ( 2023 )

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• Aayushi Sen 1 , 2 &
• Xin You Tai 1 , 2  

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Purpose of Review

To review the literature examining the relationship between sleep and cognition, specifically examining the sub-domain of executive function. We explore the impact of sleep deprivation and the important question of how much sleep is required for optimal cognitive performance. We consider how other sleep metrics, such as sleep quality, may be a more meaningful measure of sleep. We then discuss the putative mechanisms between sleep and cognition followed by their contribution to developing dementia.

Recent Findings

Sleep duration and executive function display a quadratic relationship. This suggests an optimal amount of sleep is required for daily cognitive processes. Poor sleep efficiency and sleep fragmentation are linked with poorer executive function and increased risk of dementia during follow-up. Sleep quality may therefore be more important than absolute duration. Biological mechanisms which may underpin the relationship between sleep and cognition include brain structural and functional changes as well as disruption of the glymphatic system.

Sleep is an important modifiable lifestyle factor to improve daily cognition and, possibly, reduce the risk of developing dementia. The impact of optimal sleep duration and sleep quality may have important implications for every ageing individual.

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Introduction 

Sleep is an integral part of human life and is linked to optimal performance across a broad range of physiological and psychological functions [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]. The relationship between sleep and executive function is an area of intense interest as optimising sleep may be one avenue to improve cognition as we grow older. Executive function, a critical cognitive domain for day-to-day living, has been closely linked to sleep patterns as we grow older. For instance, sleep deprivation is associated with increased frequency of mistakes by shift workers [ 5 ] and increased reliance on habits rather than goal-directed decisions that require executive control [ 6 ]. Despite a growing body of literature, the exact nature of the relationship between sleep and cognition remains unclear. Importantly, what is the optimal amount of sleep required for cognitive functioning? Does this change as we age? These are not straightforward questions, as studies have highlighted different sleep lengths as detrimental or beneficial for cognitive performance. Additionally, how strong is the causal relationship between sleep and cognition? This is crucial if sleep is to be considered a key modifiable lifestyle factor to optimise cognition and mitigate risk of certain brain disorders, especially dementia.

This article offers an overview of the current literature examining sleep duration and executive function in mid-to-late life and will explore key issues including potential underlying mechanisms, the link with brain structural health, and potential contribution to developing dementia.

The Importance of Executive Function

Executive function is the orchestration of goal-oriented processes that include attention, problem solving, planning, and working memory. This includes the ability to hold information in your short-term memory, manipulate that information, and decide which part of the information is important for the task at hand. Executive functioning is particularly developed in humans compared to other animals, and is important for performing everyday tasks ranging from getting dressed, following a recipe, driving a car to more complex problems [ 7 ]. During adulthood, executive function declines with age along with several other cognitive domains [ 8 , 9 , 10 ]. Furthermore, executive function is commonly affected across a wide range of neurological and psychological disorders such as dementia (particularly fronto-temporal dementia), stroke, and head trauma [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. It is therefore critical to understand modifiable factors, such as sleep, that could potentially optimise executive function.

How is Executive Function Tested?

Executive function is tested in several ways. Common measures include goal-oriented tasks like the trail-making test [ 15 ], digit-symbol substitution test (DSST) [ 16 ], Wisconsin card sorting test [ 17 ], or the Stroop test [ 18 , 19 ]. Such tasks require a combination of attention, online processing of information, and cognitive effort. Some tasks will engage cognitive control, whereby participants have to decide when to act (‘GO’) but also when not to act (‘NO-GO’), while others may require a participant to place themselves in the mind of another person (theory of mind). More general questionnaires of cognition, such as the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) [ 20 ] and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) [ 21 ], may have subcomponents of executive function. These can be useful as scalable tests of cognitive ability for large-scale studies but do not assess executive function with the detail of dedicated tasks. By contrast, there are specific cognitive tasks of executive function created to answer specific questions [ 22 , 23 ], but these may be hard to incorporate into larger studies. Box 1 demonstrates 3 tests you can try yourself.

Sleep deprivation is common, with 11.8% of respondents reporting less than 5 h sleep on average in a large US survey [ 25 ]. Deficits in motor performance due to sleep deprivation are equivalent to blood alcohol content of 0.05–0.1%, which is comparable to the legal driving limit of 0.08% [ 26 ] in England and the USA. A single night of sleep deprivation has been shown to affect several components of executive function such as sustained attention, reaction time, and working memory, as well as other cognitive domains of consolidation of episodic and procedural memory [ 27 ].

Sleep deprivation experiments can involve keeping participants awake for an extended period of time (usually over 24 h), or restricting sleep to only a few hours over multiple days. Cognition is tested before, during, and after sleep deprivation periods. Tasks requiring sustained attention show worse performance over 28 h of sleep deprivation [ 28 ]; with more pronounced effects, the more mundane the task is [ 29 ]. Creative thought processes are affected more than rule-based processes [ 30 ], and people revert to habitual actions rather than goal-directed actions for the task at hand [ 6 ].

The real-life impact of sleep deprivation is exemplified in studies of risk aversion, with several prominent studies examining occupations such as the military. Sleep-deprived individuals have impaired risk perception, where they performed worse in a simulated balloon overinflation experiment after 36 h of staying awake. Doing well on this task requires participants to pay attention to the balloon; contextualise it with previous inflation attempts; assess, in real time, the odds of the balloon popping; and inhibit the urge to score higher with a bigger balloon. Interestingly, poor performance in sleep-deprived participants corresponded to altered brain measures of network connectivity, compared to when the same individual was not sleep deprived [ 31 ]. This intra-subject analysis suggests that sleep deprivation may alter the way information is communicated through the brain. A meta-analysis, which pooled large amounts of data from multiple studies, involving 1341 sleep restricted military participants identified a significant negative effect on reaction times, processing speed, accuracy, and moral decision making [ 32 ].

In addition to executive function, sleep has been shown to be important for memory consolidation. Even short naps (as little as 6 min) can improve memory retention, with longer durations being particularly useful for procedural memory. Behaviourally relevant memories are favoured in sleep-dependent consolidation [ 33 ]. Therefore, unsurprisingly, sleep deprivation can negatively affect the consolidation of new memories, especially episodic [ 33 , 34 ] and procedural memory [ 35 , 36 , 37 ]. Importantly, sleep recovery (being able to sleep a ‘normal’ amount) over the course of a week can lead to improved performance in previously sleep-deprived individuals, back to the level of controls [ 36 ].

Sleep extension (sleeping longer than normal) in the short term can reduce the effect of sleep deprivation on sustained attention tasks [ 38 ] and memory [ 36 ]. There are also interesting studies investigating factors that affect resilience against sleep deprivation. Older adults showed worse performance, compared to younger adults, following sleep deprivation in multiple cognitive tasks, including those testing vigilance and reaction times [ 39 ]. By contrast, older adults did not get a benefit from interval sleep after a motor-sequence learning task, unlike their younger counterparts [ 40 ], indicating unequal reliance on sleep for different ages and types of memory consolidation. This effect has not been observed in related non-motor learning paradigms [ 41 ].

Therefore, there is robust experimental and real-life evidence that acute periods of sleep deprivation can detrimentally affect cognition. A different question remains—what is the optimal daily duration of sleep to maximise our cognitive functioning? This is relevant to the daily lifestyle habits of all ageing individuals, and may provide insight into those with the worst cognitive functioning, such as in dementia.

Long-Term Effect of Sleep: Both Short and Long Sleep Durations are Associated with Poorer Executive Function

Numerous studies examine the relationship between average sleep duration and executive function. A common way to probe this question has been to ask participants to self-report the average hours of sleep they had recently, and combine it with cognitive tests of executive function administered at a time point within the study. Using this approach, important findings have emerged.

Short and Long Sleep Durations are Related to Worse Executive Function in Cross-sectional Studies

Earlier cross-sectional studies have associated worse executive function with either short or long extremes of sleep duration [ 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 ], while more recent studies tend to link both short and long sleep durations with poor executive function [ 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 ]. There may be several reasons for these mixed findings.

Firstly, studies tend to use a variety of methods to test cognition. One study of 3212 individuals aged over 60 demonstrated a worse MMSE score for every hour over 7 h of sleep per day in a linear analysis, but no difference in short sleepers [ 42 ]. Similar findings were also identified in a study which accounted for sleep-disordered breathing, which is often cited as a missed confounder in long sleep duration and cognitive impairment [ 50 ]. A linearly worsening trend at longer sleep durations was also seen in a study of executive function (testing DSST). This trend persisted after adjusting for sex, age, education, and BMI, but unfortunately, hypertension and hypnotic medications were not accounted for [ 44 ]. A smaller study of 189 individuals interestingly showed significantly lower MoCA scores with long sleep duration, but not MMSE scores [ 45 ]. In contrast with these studies however, worse MMSE scores [ 59 , 60 ] and immediate and delayed recall [ 60 ] have also been associated with shorter sleep. One study showed a linear relationship of worsening global cognition over 2 years with every hour of sleep less than 7 h, when adjusted for sex, age, education, and BMI [ 61 ]. Therefore, the broad nature of these cognitive tests may have contributed to different findings.

Secondly, different definitions and thresholds of sleep durations have been applied across studies as ‘long’ sleep duration can range from greater than 7 h to greater than 11 h [ 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 47 , 48 ]. Conversely, a ‘short’ sleep duration can range from less than 8 h to less than 4 h depending on the specific study [ 56 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 ], which may also contribute to the heterogeneity of results.

Sleep thresholds are now less important, as recent studies have been able to investigate how every hour of sleep reported relates to executive function. This has been made possible by large study cohorts which have consistently identified a quadratic, or inverted ‘U’-shaped, relationship between self-reported sleep duration and executive function with increasingly worse performance with both less and more sleep around a baseline of 7–8 h [ 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 64 , 65 ]. A study of around 480,000 individuals, aged 38–73 years, showed that 7 h of sleep per day was associated with the highest executive function performance, using a measure derived from specific computer-based tasks of attention and working memory. Furthermore, there was a parametric decline in executive function associated with every hour of sleep below and above 7 h suggesting an optimal sleep duration (Fig.  1 ). This finding was consistent for individuals who were below and above the age of 60 years, suggesting that an optimal sleep duration exists as individuals age. This study also showed a similar quadratic relationship between sleep duration and brain volume across 46 different cortical regions which highlights how sleep may be important for brain health [ 54 •].

Association between sleep duration and standardised executive function score from a study of 474,417 individuals in the UK Biobank. Seven hours of self-reported sleep duration was associated with the highest executive function score. A negative relationship was present with sleeping less than 6 h and more sleep from 8 h (Tai et al. 2022, reproduced with permission from the author)

The quadratic relationship between executive function and sleep [ 54 , 64 ] is observed in other cognitive domains including memory [ 51 , 53 , 57 , 64 ], visuospatial abilities [ 51 , 65 ], verbal fluency [ 49 , 57 ], and global cognitive tests like the MMSE [ 50 , 55 , 56 ]. This quadratic association is also observed in a large study of around 513,000 participants, aged 15–89 years old, in a non-supervised, online ‘game-based’ test of processing speed, working memory, arithmetic, and visuospatial memory [ 66 ]. These findings are additionally confirmed in a more recent meta-analysis that self-reported short and long sleep increased the odds of cognitive impairment by 1.40 and 1.58 respectively [ 58 ]. Therefore, cross-sectional studies indicate both long and shorter sleep durations may be detrimental to executive functioning and, importantly, not just the extremes of sleep deprivation and over-sleeping.

Longitudinal Measurements of Sleep Duration Identify Similar Patterns with Executive Function

Cross-sectional studies compare executive function and sleep duration at a single time point. A limitation of this approach is the inability to infer causality. Longitudinal studies, which are more costly to run, offer more information in this regard although cannot strictly determine causality either. Several longitudinal studies have examined sleep duration and executive function. A study where both cognition and self-reported sleep were measured at 3 time points over 10 years showed that long sleep duration was associated with worse global cognition, but not specific cognitive domains. Unfortunately, this study failed to adjust for confounders such as depression, hypnotic use, and sleep apnoea [ 67 ]. Another longitudinal study used a combination of EEG measurement and self-reported sleep following 100 participants over 4 years, and showed worsening cognition over time was associated with both short and long sleep durations, similar to cross-sectional studies [ 68 •]. A change in sleep duration out of the optimal range, over a 5-year follow-up, was also related to worse performance in MMSE, fluency, and reasoning tasks, but had no effect on memory [ 69 ]. Longitudinal studies therefore indicate that average sleep duration, in a similar pattern to cross-sectional studies, can affect executive function and cognitive ability in the future.

Sub-optimal Sleep Duration May Predict Dementia Onset

An important consideration is whether worsening executive function over time may represent the development of dementia. One study of 2457 elderly participants from the Framingham cohort showed double the risk in those who reported long sleep to be diagnosed with dementia, even when adjusted for a genetic predisposition for Alzheimer’s. Transitioning to long sleep was also associated with a higher risk, than those who previously slept for long durations [ 70 ]. Two 2019 meta-analyses support the findings of long sleep being associated with incident dementia [ 71 , 72 ]. However, a well-controlled longitudinal study of 7959 participants of the Whitehall II study over 25 years indicated that self-reported short sleep duration in mid-life was associated with incident dementia when elderly. They further confirmed this association with objective sleep measures in a subpopulation of 3888 participants. There was no link with long sleep, which they report is due to the fact they are looking at sleep durations from mid-life, whereas other studies focus on the elderly—when any impending dementia may already be affecting sleep patterns [ 73 ••]. Therefore, there is evidence that both short and long reported sleep duration may be associated with developing dementia.

Objective Measurements of Sleep Duration and Executive Function

Why are both long and short durations associated with worse executive function? There may be biological reasons, which will be discussed below, as well as practical reasons. Self-reported sleep habits from large cross-sectional studies may not represent true sleep characteristics, as individuals may either over- or under-estimate how long they sleep. Generally, people tend to report ‘time in bed’ rather than actual time asleep [ 74 ]. There are also a tendency for those with insomnia to under-report sleep duration and a tendency of those with fragmented sleep (e.g. those with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) or depression) to over-report sleep duration [ 75 , 76 ].

More accurate data comes from electroencephalography (EEG) or actigraphy studies, which objectively measure when an individual is sleeping and delineate sleep stages. While EEG studies are more difficult to carry out and often have smaller sample sizes, actigraphy is increasingly used in large samples to investigate sleep duration [ 46 , 77 , 78 ]. Results from some EEG and actigraphy studies conflict with self-reported sleep data, with total sleep time showing little association with executive function. Blackwell et al. found that total sleep time (TST) measured by actigraphy was related to MMSE score, but not to the trail-making test [ 46 ], while Suemoto et al. demonstrated no impairments related to actigraphy-measured TST (10-word list, verbal fluency, and trail-making tests) [ 79 ]. Similarly, a meta-analysis of actigraphy and EEG studies showed no associations with TST. Importantly though, early studies were limited by the use of linear analysis models, which may have missed the quadratic relationship recently described between sleep duration and performance. However, a longitudinal study that used both EEG measurement and self-reported sleep had findings consistent with cross-sectional studies with worsening cognition over time in short and long sleep durations [ 68 •]. These objective sleep studies hint at a relationship between sleep and cognition that may go beyond just length of sleep.

In summary, recent literature has emphasised the quadratic relationship between sleep duration and executive function and suggests that there may be an optimal duration of sleep to maximise our cognitive performance. This has both personal and public health implications. However, an interesting and important question that has emerged from objective sleep monitoring studies is whether total sleep duration alone is the best measure of sleep. In the next section, we consider how sleep characteristics other than sleep duration may be relevant to the relationship with executive function.

Sleep Quality May Be More Relevant for Long-Term Cognitive Outcomes than Absolute Duration

Sleep quality may be more important than sleep duration alone when considering the impact on executive function. Evidence from studies with objective sleep recording rather than self-reported sleep duration indicates that time spent in different sleep stages and sleep fragmentation may correlate better to cognitive function than total sleep time alone [ 78 , 79 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 ]. Subjective sleep quality, such as asking whether the participants felt well rested, also correlates better to cognitive function over absolute duration [ 84 ].

There are three main reasons for why this effect of sleep ‘quality over quantity’ in relation to cognition may be relevant. Firstly, as discussed previously, there may be several biases with self-reported sleep duration [ 74 , 75 , 76 ], which may mean the extremes of self-reported sleep durations are acting as a surrogate for poor sleep quality.

Secondly, conditions associated with poor sleep quality are also often related to poor general cognition. This could confound the relationship between sleep and executive function. For example, individuals with OSA can wake numerous times overnight with brief apnoeic spells resulting in poor sleep. This condition is associated with obesity and resistant hypertension [ 85 , 86 ], which can lead to a decline in cognition via small vessel disease in the brain. Thirdly, sleep architecture evolves with age. Sleep efficiency (SE) (time spent asleep between first falling asleep and waking in the morning) decreases from 89 to 79% from middle age to 70 years old, and the change accelerates over the age of 70 [ 87 ]. Given there is concurrent cognitive decline naturally in this time [ 8 , 9 , 10 ], parsing out the effect of sleep and other factors is difficult but important.

Several studies have explored the link between sleep quality and executive function using various methods. Actigraphy uses a wearable device that measures movements when going to bed to assess parameters like total sleep time (TST), sleep onset latency (SOL), wake after sleep onset (WASO), and general restlessness to gauge quality of sleep. EEG studies tend to use time in slow wave sleep (SWS), rapid eye movement sleep (REM), and non-REM sleep (nREM), as well as the presence and density of sleep spindles [ 88 , 89 ]. Other studies rely on participants reporting whether or not they had a restful and restorative sleep [ 83 , 84 ]. Together, these may be used to give an indication of ‘sleep quality’, or of ‘sleep fragmentation’, rather than self-reported sleep duration.

Feeling rested after sleep or not, regardless of actual time reported asleep, was reported to be more indicative of speed and flexibility of processing [ 67 ]. Similarly, Teräs et al. reported better executive function in those who reported restorative sleep, in a cross-sectional study of healthy mid-old age participants [ 83 ]. Those with more restful nights did better in memory tasks, and those with decreased SOL did better in executive function tasks in a meta-analysis of actigraphy-measured sleep and cognition [ 81 ••]. More time in REM was associated with better executive function in adults aged 20–84 (tested with a goal neglect task), and more SWS and sleep spindles were associated with faster response times, an indication of attention and reaction time [ 80 ]. Sleep spindle density was also recently reported to be associated with better executive function (using DSST, card sorting, and Stroop) and MoCA scores in a cross-sectional study of sedentary 63 middle-older aged participants [ 90 ].

A recent prospective study investigating incident cognitive impairment 4 years after baseline polysomnography found a small, but statistically significant, association of shorter average sleep cycle length and average REM duration [ 82 ]. A similar study published in 2023 additionally reported no association on executive function or global cognitive performance with actigraphy-measured TST or SOL. They did however have small associations between lower SE and poorer visuospatial ability. A limitation of the study was only having follow-up data on 70% of the original participants. They also commented on different associations seen between the (self-identified) White and Black participants; with poor sleep having a greater effect on Black participants [ 91 ].

In summary, executive function appears to be reliably related to sleep quality as measured by sleep onset latency, wake after sleep onset, and whether participants seem rested or not. EEG studies indicate that time in REM and SWS may be important to the mechanism by which sleep affects cognition. Sleep quality should be considered and investigated specifically in any future studies investigating the link between sleep and executive function.

Biological Mechanisms Underlying the Link Between Sleep and Executive Function

Why is sleep so important to executive function? Studies have explored several biological mechanisms that may underlie the link between sleep and executive function. These include potential changes in brain volume, alterations in brain connectivity, accumulation of neurodegenerative proteins, and disrupted glymphatic drainage (summarised in Fig.  2 ).

A summary diagram illustrating the relationship between self-reported sleep duration and executive function and the potential mechanisms by which this may occur. SWS slow wave sleep, REM rapid eye movement, OSA obstructive sleep apnoea

Poor sleep may lead to reduced brain volume which affects cognition. A large imaging study has demonstrated a quadratic relationship between sleep duration and executive function and multiple areas of reduced cortical volume [ 54 •]. Cortical thinning was seen with reduced REM sleep [ 92 ] and in patients with severe OSA and sleep fragmentation; this was, importantly, shown to be partially reversible after 18 months of CPAP therapy [ 93 ].

Changes in brain connectivity may also underpin the effects of sleep deprivation. Diffusion tensor imaging, used to visualise white matter tracts in the brain, has demonstrated changes in structural brain connectivity after just one night of sleep deprivation [ 27 , 94 ] and with prolonged sleep restriction [ 95 , 96 ]. A study of young healthy volunteers indicated that goal-directed learning mainly recruited the ventro-medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) on fMRI; after sleep deprivation, this activation was less pronounced reflecting worse functional brain connectivity [ 6 ].

Beyond changes in brain structure, studies using positron emission tomography (PET) imaging [ 97 ] suggest accumulation of neurodegenerative proteins is associated with sleep deprivation [ 98 ]. Beta-amyloid is one of two main pathological proteins described in Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia. Increased amyloid plaques on PET scan, along with reduced cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) amyloid (indicating increased amyloid deposition) over 2 years, were described in 208 cognitively healthy elderly people with OSA [ 99 ]. Beta-amyloid plaques are also increased in cognitively intact adults who have shorter and poorer quality reported sleep, as well as those with poor objective sleep quality [ 100 ]. While not the remit of this review, there is a growing animal model literature which corroborates findings of accelerated amyloid plaque and tau tangle formation in sleep-deprived states [ 101 ].

More recently, the role of glymphatic drainage, representing the waste clearance system of the brain, has been proposed as a mechanism by which amyloid and other toxic metabolites are removed from the brain. One line of evidence suggests that amyloid production in Alzheimer’s may be the same as in healthy people, but that clearance is significantly slowed [ 100 ]. The glymphatic system is primarily active during sleep and affected by several factors including sleep architecture (more active during SWS) and the general physiological milieu including hormones like cortisol and noradrenaline [ 100 , 102 , 103 ]. Amyloid uptake shows an inverse relationship with nREM slow wave activity [ 104 ]. Amyloid levels in the interstitia are higher in wakefulness in mice, and a small human study found similar results [ 105 ], indicating that sleep deprivation may lead to higher amyloid plaque levels via reduced clearance from the brain. This offers a tangible mechanism linking poor sleep to worse cognitive functions and, possibly, increased risk of dementia.

In summary, there are several mechanisms in which poor sleep may contribute to impaired executive function with reduced quality of sleep. The underlying process is likely to be multifactorial involving a complex relationship between these biological processes (Fig.  2 ). Future studies must consider this complexity to better understand the causal nature between sleep and cognition.

Conclusion and Future Directions

The prospect that sleep may be a modifiable lifestyle factor that can improve our executive function and reduce risk of dementia is both tantalising and real. This is important, especially considering that the worldwide prevalence of dementia is expected to increase by 117% from 2019 to 2050 [ 106 ]. There is consistent evidence for an optimal duration of sleep for cognitive function which is relevant to the personal health of every ageing individual. It is important, however, to remember that these findings reflect a group effect and the exact optimal duration may differ between individuals. Furthermore, other sleep factors may be equally important as the duration of sleep.

Future studies should consider both objective sleep duration and quality by incorporating detailed sleep measurements using actigraphy or EEG where possible. The potential benefits justify the costs of such studies at large scale, while the advent of machine learning and artificial intelligence will allow better data processing and interpretation. Development of short, pragmatic cognitive batteries [ 107 ] which can be performed remotely and are not culturally specific would improve the feasibility of large-scale, standardised multicentre studies. These technologies would allow longitudinal tracking of cognition and sleep in which, as described, very little research has been conducted to date. The causal direction between sleep and executive function should be further explored through interventional trials which may have an active arm of individuals with targeted sleep advice and support compared to match controls. Furthermore, using alternate approaches such as Mendelian randomisation to leverage genetic information [ 108 ] should be performed in larger, diverse populations.

From a scientific perspective, we must better understand the underlying mechanisms linking sleep to cognition and, especially, to the risk of dementia. Moving forward, sleep studies in humans would benefit from the arrival of plasma biomarkers of neurodegeneration such as beta-amyloid, phosphorylated tau, and neurofilament light chain [ 109 ]. Such in vivo and minimally invasive measurements of pathological processes have revolutionised the current landscape of dementia research and clinical trials. It is a clear next step for the study of sleep, cognition, and dementia.

In this review, we have tried to identify what is currently understood around sleep and executive function. We have highlighted the expansive literature around sleep duration and executive function and the growing importance of examining sleep quality. We have considered important questions around causality and underlying mechanisms while showing broadly what is currently understood. Finally, we have discussed areas of future research that may expand our understanding around sleep as a modifiable lifestyle factor for cognition, specifically executive function, and the global problem of dementia.

Data Availability

Not applicable.

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance

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Sen, A., Tai, X.Y. Sleep Duration and Executive Function in Adults. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep 23 , 801–813 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11910-023-01309-8

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