Dr. Roger Wong: Insomnia, Sleeping Pills and Dementia Risk

This event has passed. You can read highlights from the interview here. 

On Thursday May 25th 10:30 a.m. PT/1:30 p.m. ET, Dr. Roger Wong, an assistant professor at SUNY Upstate Medical University, joins Being Patient Live Talks to discuss how sleep disturbances and issues sleeping — including insomnia — may be linked to dementia. 

In a recent study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Wong and colleagues dove deep into the link between sleep and brain health by studying different types of insomnia. They found that sleep-initiation insomnia — trouble falling asleep in 30 minutes — and the use of sleep medication were associated with higher levels of dementia. Strangely, the also found that sleep-maintenance insomnia, or having trouble falling asleep after waking up, was associated with a lower instance of dementia in their study. 

Wong’s research focuses dementia prevention through lifestyle behaviors such as sleep, physical activity, and social contacts, and on racial and ethnic disparities in dementia. Tune into the Live Talk to learn what these new findings about insomnia could mean in the future.