E-Thesis 366 views
Sleep, Memory, Cognition and Wellbeing in Participants with Vascular Dementia and in Healthy Older and Younger Adults / Chloe Tulip
Swansea University Author: Chloe Tulip
DOI (Published version): 10.23889/SUthesis.69454
Abstract
Vascular Cognitive Impairment (VCI) is the second most common form of dementia and may be the most prevalent due to evolving diagnostic criteria. However, the relationship between sleep disturbances, cognitive decline, and wellbeing in VCI remains poorly understood. While evidence highlights the rol...
| Published: |
Swansea, Wales, UK
2025
|
|---|---|
| Institution: | Swansea University |
| Degree level: | Doctoral |
| Degree name: | Ph.D |
| Supervisor: | Blagrove, Mark ; Tales, Andrea ; Playfoot, David |
| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa69454 |
| Abstract: |
Vascular Cognitive Impairment (VCI) is the second most common form of dementia and may be the most prevalent due to evolving diagnostic criteria. However, the relationship between sleep disturbances, cognitive decline, and wellbeing in VCI remains poorly understood. While evidence highlights the role of sleep in cognitive health, most research has focused on Alzheimer’s disease, overlooking how sleep disturbances uniquely affect VCI. This thesis addresses this gap through studies aimed at understanding and improving sleep and wellbeing in VCI populations. Chapter 1 utilised the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center Uniform Data Set to show that individuals with Vascular Dementia (VaD) and sleep disturbances had significantly poorer performance in orientation, memory, executive function, and global cognition compared to those without sleep disturbances, highlighting the importance of considering sleep disturbances in VCI diagnosis and management. Chapter 2 develops and validates a narrative-based emotional memory task in healthy young adults to assess sleep-dependent memory consolidation designed for future use in VCI populations. Findings show enhanced declarative memory following sleep compared to wakefulness; however, the expected preferential consolidation of emotional over neutral content was not observed. To support future research in clinical populations, including VCI, an automatic scoring tool was developed to improve narrative analysis efficiency and reliability. Chapter 3 evaluates a bedtime fiction reading intervention, showing improved subjective sleep quality and objective Total Sleep Time in healthy older adults and those with subjective cognitive decline, with differing effects on wellbeing. A feasibility study with VaD participants confirmed its applicability in VCI. Chapter 4 explores online recruitment and retention challenges in older adults, offering recommendations to enhance participant retention and study design. Collectively, this thesis advances understanding of how sleep disturbances contribute to cognitive and wellbeing outcomes in VCI and highlights the potential of non-pharmacological interventions to improve sleep and wellbeing in this under-researched population. |
|---|---|
| Item Description: |
ORCiD identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8335-3842 |
| Keywords: |
Sleep, Cognition, Memory, Vascular Cognitive Impairment, Vascular Dementia, Mild Cognitive Impairment, Subjective Cognitive Decline, Sleep intervention, Fiction, Reading, Emotional Memory Consolidation, Wellbeing, Mild Cognitive Impairment |
| College: |
Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences |
| Funders: |
BRACE Alzheimer’s Research |