Sleep duration and mental well-being are associated with delayed memory in a 12-week digital and remote community-sample study

The study examined the relationship between sleep, mental well-being, and memory in adults aged 18 to 85 years from a German community over 12 weeks. Participants (329 people) completed a weekly memory test via a digital platform and filled out surveys about sleep duration and mental well-being. Results showed that sleeping longer than usual for an individual on the night before testing was associated with better memory test performance. Better mental well-being was also associated with better memory performance, both compared to an individual's own average and the group average. These effects were consistent across ages and genders. The study suggests that individual averages of sleep duration and mental well-being should be considered when interpreting results of digital memory tests.