People who regularly sleep for six hours or less each night in middle age are more likely to develop dementia than those who routinely manage seven hours, according to a major study into the disease.

一项针对痴呆症的大型研究表明，与每晚睡眠7小时的人相比，中年人每晚睡眠6小时或更少更易患痴呆症。

Researchers found a 30% greater risk of dementia in those who during their 50s, 60s and 70s consistently had a short night's sleep, regardless of other risk factors such as heart and metabolic conditions and poor mental health.

研究人员发现，不考虑心脏、新陈代谢和心理健康状况不佳等其他风险因素，在50岁-70岁年龄段人群中，长期睡眠不足的人，患痴呆症的风险要高出30%。

[Photo/IC]Researchers do not know whether improving sleep can reduce the risk of dementia, but sleep is known to clear toxic waste from the brain.

研究人员尚不清楚改善睡眠是否能降低患痴呆症的风险，但他们知道睡眠能帮助大脑清除有毒废物。

One hypothesis is that when people sleep less, this process becomes impaired.

有种假说认为，当人们睡眠不足时，这一过程就会受到损害。

Nearly 10 million new cases of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, are counted each year worldwide, according to the World Health Organization, and disrupted sleep is a common symptom.

世界卫生组织的数据显示，全球每年新增阿尔茨海默病等痴呆症病例近1000万例，而睡眠中断是常见的症状。

【人到中年,先睡为敬查看网站：[db:时间]】