UC Davis Links 62 Older Adults' Self-Rated Sharpness to Watch-Based Cognitive Tests
Updated
Updated · The Mercury News · Aug 23
UC Davis Links 62 Older Adults' Self-Rated Sharpness to Watch-Based Cognitive Tests
1 articles · Updated · The Mercury News · Aug 23
Summary
A UC Davis study found older adults performed worse on smartwatch cognitive tasks when they rated their mental sharpness below their own usual level.
Sixty-two participants with normal standard test results used smartwatches four times a day for one week, logging sharpness and mood before brief processing-speed and attention tests.
The link held after researchers accounted for age, mood and time of day, with both perceived sharpness and objective performance tending to slip later in the day.
Researchers said repeated real-time measurements could reduce recall bias from annual self-assessments and capture cognition during daily life rather than in a single clinic visit.
The team cautioned that a week of data cannot show whether someone is developing dementia; longer clinical trials and follow-up over months or years are still needed.