Speaking during a session at the recent Vitafoods trade show in Barcelona, he addressed the high prevalence of sleep disturbances, depression, anxiety and cognitive decline and how these conditions overlap and often exacerbate one another.
Mind, mood and sleep
Around 50% of adults experience some form of sleep disturbance, including difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep or waking up feeling unrefreshed.
“About 30% of adults regularly get less than the recommended seven hours of sleep, and non-restorative sleep affects 10% to 30% of people,” Lopresti said. “These disturbances significantly impact physical, mental and emotional health.”
He also noted that up to 60% of older adults will experience mild cognitive impairment (MCI), as many as 20% of people will experience depression during their lifetime, and almost 20% of the global population is affected by anxiety every year.
Depression often co-occurs with other serious conditions, Lopresti explained, sharing that around 50% of individuals with depression also experience anxiety, and 75% struggle with insomnia. The risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease increases by 50% in those with depression, and when insomnia goes untreated, it raises the likelihood of a depression relapse by 90% within just 12 months.
Anxiety also overlaps with other mental health and neurological conditions, with around 50% of people with anxiety also suffering from insomnia and 60% also experiencing depression. Additionally, anxiety has been linked to a 50% increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
Beyond the close link between insomnia and anxiety, in those experiencing sleep disturbance, nearly half struggle with depression. Furthermore, 50% of those are affected by mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
The main challenge in treating these conditions is that medications often don’t work well because they usually target just one biological mechanism, Lopresti noted.
“Because all these factors interact in complex ways, a single drug that targets only one issue rarely brings full relief,” he said.
Ingredient opportunities
Lopresti noted that some key emerging ingredients offer potential cross-condition benefits.
“Nutraceuticals may target multiple mechanisms such as inflammation, oxidative stress, neurotransmitter balance and hormone regulation all at once,” he said. “If we target multiple systems simultaneously, we might not only improve sleep, but also mood and cognition as a positive side effect.”
He noted new research showing that saffron supplementation improves depressive and anxious symptoms in people with mild-to-moderate depression. It has also been found to improve sleep duration and quality and demonstrated potential for stress resilience.
Magnesium has shown promise in managing symptoms of anxiety and depression, improving cognitive function andimproving the length of time sleep by supporting the nervous system. In addition, ashwagandha has been found to modulate stress hormones, improve sleep and reduce anxiety, and research suggests that certain probiotic strain can improve mood, cognitive health and sleep.
While some ingredients present multifaceted potential, it is important that the supplement industry does not fall into a “pharmaceutical mindset”, Lopresti cautioned.
“I think we need to be really careful about treating supplements as a magic pill and when evaluating research and ingredients,” he said. “If it seems it may be too good to be true, then it very well might be.”
Instead, supplements should be incorporated as part of an integrated, holistic approach to bettering mind, mood and sleep health.
“People often think that if an ingredient will only result in a 5% improvement in mood, for instance, then that’s not meaningful, but going out in the sun might not be considered clinically meaningful either,” Lopresti said.
“If you go outside, take a walk, interact with others and maybe take a supplement—if I do five or 10 things that each improve my mood by 5%—together, they can lead to a significant improvement.”