Scientists have called sleep screams an early sign of dementia and Parkinson's disease.

A recent study has shown that abnormal behavior during REM sleep can be an early sign of diseases such as dementia and Parkinson's disease. In particular, cognitive impairments can be indicated by phenomena such as shouting or laughing. This was reported on January 26 by The Korea Herald newspaper.

Researchers from Seoul National University's Bundang Hospital studied patients with long—term isolated rem sleep disorder (iRBD), a condition in which people act out their dreams during this phase. Allegedly, this is often accompanied by shouting, laughing, or other outbursts of aggression.

The study involved 162 people with isolated behavior disorder in the REM sleep phase. The average age of patients at the time of diagnosis was 65.6 years. Scientists observed them for an average of 7.7 years. These patients showed marked cognitive impairment, which potentially leads to dementia and Parkinson's disease.

The results showed that all patients with iRBD who had suffered from the disorder for more than 10 years had cognitive impairments, including significant loss of attention and working memory, as well as impairment of verbal and visual memory. In particular, tests for information processing speed and sustained attention showed a noticeable decrease.

Men with iRBD suffered from deeper functional losses, while women showed greater resistance to cognitive impairment. The study highlights the importance of regular checkups and treatment for people with such disorders, even if they do not have obvious signs of dementia or Parkinson's disease.

"Gradual decline in cognitive functions such as attention/working memory and memory may represent a natural course of neurodegeneration in men with iRDD, without necessarily indicating an imminent phenotypic transformation. Women with iRDD seem to show greater resistance to cognitive decline compared to men," the study text says.

Yun In-young, a professor of neuropsychiatry at Seoul National University, emphasized the importance of monitoring and treatment for patients with iRBD. His team found that even people who had not developed neurodegenerative diseases had similar cognitive impairments to those who had experienced these diseases.

On November 27 last year, Science Daily magazine reported on the effect of sleep-related breathing disorders on the development of Parkinson's disease. According to the publication, respiratory failure almost doubles the risk. According to the author, the lack of therapy contributes to a significant increase in the likelihood of the disease, but does not guarantee its inevitability.

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