Raising the Importance of Deep Sleep in Cognitive Care: Christian Agudelo, MD

"Despite not seeing a causal effect, the study points to the idea that what you do in middle age, which starts as early as your 30s, can affect you down the line.”

Recently published data from researchers at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine identified a link between sleep patterns and cognitive decline in middle-aged Hispanics, noting that patients who took longer to fall asleep were associated with lower measures of verbal learning, verbal memory, and other functions over a 7-year period. The study opens a whirlwind of questions regarding the impact a good night of sleep can have on other populations, and whether cognitive care and sleep disorder care should crossover more frequently.

Christian Agudelo, MD, Evelyn F. McKnight Neurocognitive Scholar, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and first author of the study, believes that sleep should be just as important as exercise and diet, 2 of the more notable pillars of health. He claims that society has made it more acceptable to deprioritize sleep, especially for those who are undergoing medical training.

In an interview with NeurologyLive, Agudelo discusses why the importance of sleep is undersold, and how cognitive care and sleep disorder care should have more overlap, especially if these associations may be prevalent in other races or populations.