Improving Sleep Continuity Through Mindfulness Training for Better Cognitive Ageing.

Cognitive decline in the elderly is a rapidly growing concern in Singapore and other developed Asian nations. Among the major but understudied factors that may exacerbate this decline is poor sleep quality. Targeting sleep to decelerate or even reverse age-related cognitive decline may represent a low-cost, high-return solution to a widespread societal problem. To accomplish this goal, the investigators propose to test mindfulness-based training (MBT) as an intervention to improve sleep quality and cognition. In this pilot grant, the investigators will study a group of participants (N = 120) in a randomized controlled design pitting MBT (N =60) against sleep hygiene education (SHEEP, N = 60). Hypothesis 1: MBT will lead to significantly greater improvements in sustained and executive attention relative to SHEEP (measured both behaviorally and using functional magnetic resonance imaging). Hypothesis 2: Cognitive outcomes will be mediated by improvements in subjective and objective sleep quality. Good sleep is critical for cognition at all ages, and especially in the elderly Adequate sleep is important for optimal cognitive function across the lifespan. Although the association between sleep and cognitive function is bi-directional, alterations in sleep frequently occur prior to the appearance of cognitive symptoms in Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Almost 50% of older adults report at least one sleep problem, and there is growing evidence that sleep complaints and disturbances might have negative effects on cognition. Retired older adults have the freedom to sleep ad libitum but this benefit is offset by age-associated changes in sleep such as poorer subjective quality, increased fragmentation and/or altered macrostructure. Although sleep duration is the measure that has received the most attention, there is accumulating evidence that sleep quality (Blackwell et al., 2014) and sleep fragmentation in particular, can have deleterious effects on brain structure and cognition. A change in sleep pattern in late adulthood can foreshadow cognitive decline, perhaps as a result of accumulation of neurotoxic substances that are normally cleared during sleep.