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Around 57 million people worldwide live with dementia, and researchers are always looking for low risk ways to slow its onset. A new study pushes a familiar solution to the fore.
Sleep Medicine published research that looked at 54 older adults, with an average age of about 67 years, who had both mild cognitive impairment and trouble sleeping. Those who reported taking 5,000 IU or more of vitamin D per day scored more than 13% higher on a standard cognitive test, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), than those taking none.
As the senior author of the research, Victoria Pak of Emory University, is at pains to point out, this is an observational study that highlights a link rather than proving that the vitamin was responsible.
But if vitamin D is making a difference to brain health, its effect on inflammation may be the key.
Vitamin D helps regulate inflammation and immune signaling, and low quality sleep tends to raise inflammatory activity in the brain. By dampening chronic inflammation, addressing a vitamin shortfall could support both sleep and memory. The real value may lie in spotting and correcting a deficiency rather than assuming that more vitamin D is better.
By the way, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) sets the tolerable upper limit between 1,000 to 4,000 IU a day for most adults from food and supplements combined, with higher amounts reserved for treating a diagnosed deficiency under medical supervision. As our skin ages, it becomes less efficient at making vitamin D when exposed to sunlight, which is why levels often dip with age. Anyone thinking of topping up beyond this should test first and speak with a doctor or dietitian.
The new study gives us a clue about the role of vitamin D in the aging brain, but it’s not a slam dunk. A clinical trial is now planned to test whether it genuinely improves cognition, so I look forward to following up on this story in a future Wellness Wire. |
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