Getting too much or too little sleep may increase dementia risk as much as 28%

Making healthy lifestyle choices, such as eating a healthy diet , not smoking , getting enough physical activity and proper sleep , can help lower a person’s risk for many medical conditions. One such condition is dementia — a condition that negatively impacts a person’s thinking and memory skills.

“Dementia affects more than 55 million people worldwide , and despite decades of research, there is still no cure,” Akinkunle Oye-Somefun, PhD , from the School of Kinesiology and Health Science at York University in Canada, explained to Medical News Today . “The treatments that exist can slow progression in some people, but they do not stop the disease.

That is why identifying modifiable risk factors — behaviors people can change — remains a critical research priority. Behaviors like how much people move, how long they sit , and how long they sleep are among the most promising targets,” he explained.