Middle-age adults who sleep six or fewer hours a night may be at higher risk of developing dementia, according to a study which was published in the journal Nature Communications. The study looked at people between the ages of 50 and 60 who regularly slept six hours or less per night and found that they were more likely to develop dementia than those receiving seven hours of sleep per day or more. Even after controlling for cardiac, metabolic and mental health issues, the study found that 50-year-olds who were sleeping six hours or less a night had a 22% higher risk of developing later in life, while 60-year-olds were 37% more likely to develop dementia.