Are you sleeping in packets? If yes, then it's as good a time as any, catch your doctor, for a latest study claims that fragmented sleep cramps the ability to build memories and could expand the peril of developing dementia in later life.

Dr. Luis de Lecea, the lead researcher at the Stanford University, has revealed that maintaining a continuity in sleep is one of the major factors governing several pathological circumstances which influence memory, including Alzheimer’s and various other age-related cognitive disorders.

As a matter of fact, researchers have attributed their observations to a study of laboratory rodents, the reports of which found a place in the recently published version of the 'Proceedings of the National Academy of Science' journal.

During their research, the doctors found that disrupting or splintered sleep made it extremely difficult for the animals to identify familiar substances. A sleep expert from UK also revealed that the brain needs a deep sleep to evaluate the day's happenings and decide what to retain.

The researchers claim that sleeping in ‘bits & pieces’ can truck troubles for alcoholics as well as for those having Sleep Apnoea.

In addition, there are no concrete indications of a causal collaboration between fragmented sleep and any of these conditions. But they concluded that "We conclude that regardless of the total amount of sleep or sleep intensity, a minimal unit of uninterrupted sleep is crucial for memory consolidation".