Sleep is not just rest, but it happens in stages that look dramatically different from one another. The two main stages are Rapid Eye Movement (REM) and Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) sleep.

REM sleep characteristics:

• Your brain is as active as it is when you are awake!

• Thought to play a role in brain development when we are infants and children

• Infants and children have a lot more than we do as adults

• May also play a role in memory formation and brain function

NREM sleep characteristics:

• Your body cannot move, because unlike when you are awake, your muscles completely relax

• More of a period of ‘rest’ as the brain activity slows down

We think important processes occur during NREM sleep that help maintain brain and body health as we age.

 

Earlier research has shown sleep is connected to brain health, which is why we want to study sleep in older adults. We want to see if the amount of sleep or the quality of sleep you get is related to brain function and how sleep and brain function changes over time.

There are also differences in sleep quality based on social characteristics. Racial and ethnic minorities are more likely to experience poor sleep compared to non-Hispanic whites. They are also more likely to have brain diseases like dementia.

Scientists believe many things explain these differences, including occupation, income, and neighborhood characteristics where Black and Latino adults live.

DISCO stands for Disparities in Sleep and Cognition in Older Adults.

The Departments of Neurology and Preventive Medicine at Northwestern University are conducting the DISCO study with neighborhoods in the Chicago area to better understand the relationship between sleep and brain health. The investigators in charge of the study, Drs. Kristen Knutson and Mercedes Carnethon, are experienced sleep and brain scientists.

DISCO is an observational study, which means we do not ask participants to change or do anything different than they would normally do.

Participants are examined twice, 2 years apart.

We are recruiting 450 people who meet this description:

• Aged 55 and older

• Non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic white or Hispanic/Latinx.

We are not including participants who already have the following conditions:

• Been told by their doctor that they have Dementia or Alzheimer’s disease

• Currently being treated for cancer

• Recently had a major heart problem like a heart attack, stroke or heart surgery

Want to learn more?

If you are thinking of joining the study, click here to learn more. If you are already in the DISCO study, please see our tutorials page for more information.