• Home
  • Search
  • Association Between Sleep Efficiency Variability and Cognition Among Older Adults: Cross-Sectional Accelerometer Study
  • Cite Icon27
  • https://doi.org/10.2196/54353Copy DOI Icon

Association Between Sleep Efficiency Variability and Cognition Among Older Adults: Cross-Sectional Accelerometer Study

Show More
  • Abstract
  • Highlights & Summary
  • PDF
  • Literature Map
  • References
  • Citations
  • Similar Papers
Abstract

BackgroundSleep efficiency is often used as a measure of sleep quality. Getting sufficiently high-quality sleep has been associated with better cognitive function among older adults; however, the relationship between day-to-day sleep quality variability and cognition has not been well-established.ObjectiveWe aimed to determine the relationship between day-to-day sleep efficiency variability and cognitive function among older adults, using accelerometer data and 3 cognitive tests.MethodsWe included older adults aged >65 years with at least 5 days of accelerometer wear time from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) who completed the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST), the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer’s Disease Word-Learning subtest (CERAD-WL), and the Animal Fluency Test (AFT). Sleep efficiency was derived using a data-driven machine learning algorithm. We examined associations between sleep efficiency variability and scores on each cognitive test adjusted for age, sex, education, household income, marital status, depressive symptoms, diabetes, smoking habits, alcohol consumption, arthritis, heart disease, prior heart attack, prior stroke, activities of daily living, and instrumental activities of daily living. Associations between average sleep efficiency and each cognitive test score were further examined for comparison purposes.ResultsA total of 1074 older adults from the NHANES were included in this study. Older adults with low average sleep efficiency exhibited higher levels of sleep efficiency variability (Pearson r=−0.63). After adjusting for confounding factors, greater average sleep efficiency was associated with higher scores on the DSST (per 10% increase, β=2.25, 95% CI 0.61 to 3.90) and AFT (per 10% increase, β=.91, 95% CI 0.27 to 1.56). Greater sleep efficiency variability was univariably associated with worse cognitive function based on the DSST (per 10% increase, β=−3.34, 95% CI −5.33 to −1.34), CERAD-WL (per 10% increase, β=−1.00, 95% CI −1.79 to −0.21), and AFT (per 10% increase, β=−1.02, 95% CI −1.68 to −0.36). In fully adjusted models, greater sleep efficiency variability remained associated with lower DSST (per 10% increase, β=−2.01, 95% CI −3.62 to −0.40) and AFT (per 10% increase, β=−.84, 95% CI −1.47 to −0.21) scores but not CERAD-WL (per 10% increase, β=−.65, 95% CI −1.39 to 0.08) scores.ConclusionsTargeting consistency in sleep quality may be useful for interventions seeking to preserve cognitive function among older adults.

Loading PDF

Similar Papers
  • Research Article
  • Citations2

A synergistic effect of secondhand smoke with vitamin D deficiency on cognitive impairment in older adults: a cross sectional study.

  • Feb 11, 2025
  • Frontiers in nutrition
  • Yan Li +9
  • PDF
  • Research Article
  • Citations49

Association between ultra-processed food consumption and cognitive performance in US older adults: a cross-sectional analysis of the NHANES 2011–2014

  • Jul 01, 2022
  • European Journal of Nutrition
  • Barbara R Cardoso +2
  • Research Article

The mediating role of depression on the association between physical activity and cognitive function among older adults

  • Sep 05, 2025
  • Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
  • Huanrui Zhang +3
  • PDF
  • Research Article
  • Citations49

The Role of Inflammatory Diet and Vitamin D on the Link between Periodontitis and Cognitive Function: A Mediation Analysis in Older Adults.

  • Mar 12, 2021
  • Nutrients
  • João Botelho +9
  • Research Article
  • Citations1

Exploring the association between hemoglobin glycation index and cognitive function in older adults with hypertension: a cross-sectional study

  • May 13, 2025
  • BMC Geriatrics
  • Hong Ding +6
  • Research Article
  • Citations144

Association of Zinc, Iron, Copper, and Selenium Intakes with Low Cognitive Performance in Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

  • Dec 12, 2019
  • Journal of Alzheimer's Disease
  • Suyun Li +2
  • Research Article
  • Citations5

Exposome-wide association study of cognitive function in US older adults using the NHANES data

  • Jan 10, 2025
  • Exposome
  • Hyuna Jang +3
  • Research Article

Healthy dietary patterns are associated with better cognitive performance in older adults: Findings from National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011‐2014

  • Dec 01, 2020
  • Alzheimer's & Dementia
  • Yian Gu +2
  • Research Article

Association of the Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index with CognitiveFunction Level and Cognitive Impairment among Older Adults withCardiometabolic Disease

  • Mar 16, 2026
  • Current Alzheimer Research
  • Xiaofan Miao +4
  • Research Article
  • Citations32

Sleep time and efficiency in patients undergoing laboratory-based polysomnography.

  • Mar 19, 2021
  • Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine
  • Elizabeth I Harrison +7
  • PDF
  • Research Article
  • Citations30

Low Serum Testosterone Concentrations Are Associated With Poor Cognitive Performance in Older Men but Not Women

  • Nov 01, 2021
  • Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
  • Xue Dong +3
  • PDF
  • Research Article
  • Citations39

Chronic kidney disease and cognitive performance: NHANES 2011–2014

  • Apr 18, 2024
  • BMC Geriatrics
  • Te Li +4
  • Research Article
  • Citations10

Association between vitamin B2 intake and cognitive performance among older adults: a cross-sectional study from NHANES

  • Sep 20, 2024
  • Scientific Reports
  • Kangkang Ji +5
  • Research Article
  • Citations40

Association between caffeine intake and cognitive function in adults; effect modification by sex: Data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2013-2014.

  • Sep 13, 2019
  • Clinical Nutrition
  • Sohrab Iranpour +3
  • Supplementary Content

The Association Between Physical Activity and Domain\u2010Specific Cognitive Function in the Elderly: A Cross\u2010Sectional Study and Genetic Analysis

  • May 05, 2026
  • Brain and Behavior
  • Xingxiao Yin +11
Cactus Communications logo

Copyright 2026 Cactus Communications. All rights reserved.