Share Impact of pregnancy on cognitive function in women A team of researchers, including Aneta Brzezicka, Ph.D. / Associate Professor from SWPS University’s Neurocognitive Research Center investigated why a slight cognitive decline is regularly observed in expectant mothers. #working memory #awakenings #pregnancy #attention #actigraphy What we researched: We investigated whether cognitive impairment, observed in pregnant women, could be related to sleep deterioration during pregnancy. How we did it: The study included 19 pregnant women in their third trimester of pregnancy, recruited at the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Medical University of Warsaw, and 20 non-pregnant women as controls. The assessment was performed using standardized vocabulary tests to assess cognitive performance, actigraphy to examine sleep parameters, and a set of self-report instruments. What we discovered: Sleep fragmentation in the third trimester of pregnancy may impair working memory consolidation. Pregnant women often complain about poor daily performance as well as non-restorative sleep. Why is it important? We showed that there is a relationship between lower sleep quality in pregnancy and worse cognitive functioning. We can expect a cognitive decline in women with sleep disturbances in pregnancy. Therefore, we should pay more attention to the treatment of sleep disorders in pregnancy.