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Older women with sleep problems may face a higher Alzheimer’s risk

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But a study found that risk was also associated with a higher genetic link to dementia

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Mark Huffman
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Mark Huffman has covered consumer issues since 2004, with a special focus on protecting and empowering older adults. A former news correspondent for the Associated Press Radio Network, Westwood One, and ConsumerAffairs, Mark brings decades of journalistic experience to RetirementLiving.com. He is passionate about giving consumers a voice and helping them make informed decisions. Mark has also created educational content, including Senior Scam Alert, a video resource designed to help seniors recognize and avoid fraud. He holds a B.A. from the University of Kentucky and lives with his family in Richmond, Virginia.

Updated:

key insights:

  • Older women with a higher genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease may face greater memory decline and brain changes if they experience poor sleep, according to new research.
  • Researchers found that sleep complaints were linked to increased buildup of tau proteins — a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease — in women already genetically predisposed to the illness.
  • Scientists say sleep assessments could become a low-cost tool for identifying women at higher risk and may open the door to prevention strategies focused on improving sleep quality.

Poor sleep may be more than just an annoyance for older women — it could be an early warning sign of Alzheimer’s disease risk. That’s the conclusion of a new study from researchers at the University of California, San Diego. 

The study found that older women with a higher genetic predisposition to Alzheimer’s disease, and who reported poor sleep, also showed worse visual memory performance and greater buildup of tau proteins in the brain. Tau accumulation is considered one of the key biological markers of Alzheimer’s disease. 

Researchers examined 69 women aged 65 and older participating in the Women Inflammation Tau Study, an ongoing research project focused on aging and Alzheimer’s disease risk. 

Participants completed questionnaires about sleep quality, underwent memory testing, and received brain scans to measure tau deposition. 

The association between sleep problems, memory decline, and tau buildup appeared only among women with elevated genetic risk for Alzheimer’s. Women with lower genetic risk did not show the same relationship, researchers said.

Specific to visual memory, not verbal

The Scientists also noted that the effect was specific to visual memory rather than verbal memory, suggesting that some cognitive functions may be more vulnerable to the combined impact of poor sleep and genetic risk. 

The findings add to growing evidence that sleep disturbances and Alzheimer’s disease may reinforce one another. Previous research has suggested that disrupted sleep may contribute to abnormal tau buildup, while Alzheimer ’s-related brain changes may in turn interfere with healthy sleep patterns. 

Researchers said the results are especially important because women account for nearly two-thirds of Alzheimer’s cases and commonly report poorer sleep quality than men. They suggested that sleep could represent a potentially modifiable risk factor in older women. 

The study authors also emphasized that self-reported sleep assessments are inexpensive and easy to administer, raising the possibility that sleep complaints could help identify individuals who may benefit from closer monitoring or early intervention.