Measuring brain health through sleep patterns
Official title: Establishing a Brain Health Index
Funded at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center · NIH-11138681 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This study is looking at how your sleep patterns can give us clues about your brain health as you age, and it’s for anyone interested in understanding how sleep might affect memory and brain function, especially in relation to conditions like Alzheimer's.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | January 7, 2023 |
| Project end | April 30, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $806,057 |
| NIH project number | 5R01NS120947-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11138681 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates for this research include individuals under 20 years of age who may be experiencing cognitive or sleep-related issues.
✕Less likely to help
Patients over the age of 20 or those without sleep disturbances or cognitive concerns may not benefit from this research.
What this research studies
This research investigates how sleep patterns, specifically through electroencephalogram (EEG) signals, can provide insights into brain health and aging. By analyzing sleep EEG oscillations, the study aims to develop a Brain Health Index that reflects an individual's cognitive aging process. The approach includes using machine learning to predict a person's brain age based on their sleep data, which may reveal underlying conditions such as Alzheimer's disease or other cognitive impairments. The research seeks to understand how disturbances in sleep can affect memory and overall brain function.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this research could lead to new methods for assessing brain health and identifying individuals at risk for cognitive decline.
How similar studies have gone: Preliminary studies have shown promise in using EEG data to assess brain health, indicating that this approach may lead to significant advancements in understanding cognitive aging.
Where this research is happening
-
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Westover, Michael Brandon — Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Westover, Michael Brandon
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.