Better sleep, better minds: Sleep as a key to cognitive performance and quality of life in aging

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether sleep quality moderates the link between cognitive performance and perceived quality of life in healthy older adults, also exploring sex differences in these variables. METHODS: A final sample of 42 participants (Mean age: 66.57 years; 71.43% women) was included. Cognitive performance (Fototest), sleep quality (PSQI), and perceived quality of life (EuroQoL-5D) were assessed. Correlation, multiple linear regression, and moderation analyses were performed. RESULTS: All three variables showed significant relationships in the global sample. Both cognitive performance and sleep quality significantly predicted quality of life. The moderation analysis explained 42.2% of the variance, suggesting that self-reported sleep quality not only directly influences but also may moderate the relationship between cognitive performance and quality of life. Key relationships were maintained only in women, failing to reach statistical significance in men. CONCLUSION: These preliminary findings suggest that self-reported sleep quality may be relevant for understanding the association between cognitive performance and perceived quality of life in older adults. Given the limited sample size and the use of a subjective sleep measure, these results should be interpreted cautiously and replicated in larger studies including objective sleep assessments.