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Sleeping well early on in life may help preserve memory in old age, a new study suggests.

Numerous studies show that sleep boosts learning and memory in young and middle-aged people. However, the link between sleep and memory disappears around the age of 70. Researchers curious of this phenomenon wanted to see if improving sleep early in life might delay or reverse age-related changes in memory and thinking.

"It's the difference between investing up front rather than trying to compensate later," said Michael K. Scullin, Ph.D., director of Baylor University's Sleep Neuroscience and Cognition Laboratory, said in a news release. "We came across studies that showed that sleeping well in middle age predicted better mental functioning 28 years later."

After examining and analyzing results from 200 studies, researchers found evidence that sleep in children and adults can significantly influence senior cognition.

"People sometimes disparage sleep as 'lost' time," Scullin said. Despite the latest findings that the influence sleep has on memory lessens with age, researchers stress that "sleeping well still is linked to better mental health, improved cardiovascular health and fewer, less severe disorders and diseases of many kinds."

The latest findings were published in the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science.