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Sleep, Cognition, and Normal Aging
Michael K. Scullin, Donald L. Bliwise. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2015-01
Topic: Brain imaging, connectivity and assessment
Sleep is implicated in cognitive functioning in young adults. With increasing age, there are substantial changes to sleep quantity and quality, including changes to slow-wave sleep, spindle density, and sleep continuity/fragmentation. A provocative question for the field of cognitive aging is whether such changes in sleep physiology affect cognition (e.g., memory consolidation). We review nearly a half century of research across seven diverse correlational and experimental domains that historically have had little crosstalk. Broadly speaking, sleep and cognitive functions are often related in advancing age, though the prevalence of null effects in healthy older adults (including correlations in the unexpected, negative direction) indicates that age may be an effect modifier of these associations. We interpret the literature as suggesting that maintaining good sleep quality, at least in young adulthood and middle age, promotes better cognitive functioning and serves to protect against age-related cognitive declines.
Key findings
- Broadly speaking, sleep and cognitive functions are often related in advancing age, though the prevalence of null effects in healthy older adults (including correlations in the unexpected, negative direction) indicates that age may be an effect modifier of these associations.
- We interpret the literature as suggesting that maintaining good sleep quality, at least in young adulthood and middle age, promotes better cognitive functioning and serves to protect against age-related cognitive declines.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 36/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record, multi-centre collaboration and free to read, so those were left out: it earned 20 of the 56 points we could judge it on, which is 36 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Perspectives on Psychological Science) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2015 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 1 / 2 | Not in PubMed, but has a DOI |
| Free to read | — / 2 | Access not recorded — left out of this score |
| Points | 20 / 56 | Scored on 10 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 20 of the 56 points we could judge it on is 36 out of 100. |
| Total | 36 / 100 | — |
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APA 7th
Scullin, M. K., & Bliwise, D. L. (2015). Sleep, Cognition, and Normal Aging. Perspectives on Psychological Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691614556680
Vancouver
Scullin MK, Bliwise DL. Sleep, Cognition, and Normal Aging. Perspectives on Psychological Science. 2015. doi:10.1177/1745691614556680.
BibTeX
@article{scullin2015-bb7f8637,
author = {Scullin, Michael K. and Bliwise, Donald L.},
title = {{Sleep, Cognition, and Normal Aging}},
journal = {Perspectives on Psychological Science},
year = {2015},
doi = {10.1177/1745691614556680},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691614556680}
}