Original article: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1110580

A new study shows that how often older adults wake up during the night — not just how many hours they sleep — affects their thinking skills the next day. Researchers found that older adults who spent more time awake after falling asleep had slower processing speed and poorer memory test performance, regardless of total sleep duration. This suggests that sleep quality matters for daily cognitive function, and improving sleep habits may help support healthy aging and possibly delay cognitive decline