Summary: A study published in Neurology suggests that poor sleep quality in early middle age is linked to accelerated brain aging by late middle age. Researchers from the University of California San Francisco found that individuals who experienced sleep problems, such as difficulty falling or staying asleep, had brain scans showing signs of brain aging nearly three years ahead of their peers with better sleep habits. The study followed 589 participants, using brain imaging and sleep questionnaires over a 15-year period. While the study does not prove causation, it emphasizes the importance of addressing sleep issues early in life to potentially protect brain health.
Key Takeaways:
- Link Between Poor Sleep and Accelerated Brain Aging: People with persistent sleep problems in early middle age may have brain aging nearly three years ahead of those with better sleep quality, based on brain scans.
- Sleep Quality Affects Brain Health: Difficulty falling or staying asleep, as well as early morning awakenings, were associated with greater signs of brain aging in participants.
- Importance of Addressing Sleep Issues Early: The findings highlight the need to prioritize sleep quality earlier in life to help preserve brain health and potentially reduce the risk of cognitive decline later in life.
People in early middle age who have poor sleep quality, including having difficulty falling or staying asleep, have more signs of poor brain health in late middle age, according to a study published in Neurology.
The study does not prove that poor sleep accelerates brain aging. It only shows an association between poor sleep quality and signs of brain aging.
“Sleep problems have been linked in previous research to poor thinking and memory skills later in life, putting people at higher risk for dementia,” says study author Clémence Cavaillès, PhD, of the University of California San Francisco, in a release. “Our study which used brain scans to determine participants’ brain age, suggests that poor sleep is linked to nearly three years of additional brain aging as early as middle age.”
Study in Hundreds of Middle-Aged Adults
The study included 589 people with an average age of 40 at the start of the study. Participants completed sleep questionnaires both at the beginning of the study and again five years later. Participants had brain scans 15 years after the study began.
Researchers reviewed participants’ responses to questions such as, “Do you usually have trouble falling asleep?” “Do you usually wake up several times at night?” and “Do you usually wake up far too early?” They recorded the number of six poor sleep characteristics for each participant: short sleep duration, bad sleep quality, difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, early morning awakening, and daytime sleepiness.
Participants were divided into three groups. Those in the low group had no more than one poor sleep characteristic. People in the middle group had two to three, and those in the high group had more than three. At the start of the study, about 70% were in the low group, 22% were in the middle, and 8% were in the high group.
Researchers examined participants’ brain scans where the level of brain shrinkage corresponds to a specific age. Researchers used machine learning to determine the brain age for each participant.
Poor Sleep Linked to Accelerated Brain Aging
After adjusting for factors such as age, sex, high blood pressure, and diabetes, researchers found people in the middle group had an average brain age that was 1.6 years older than those in the low group, while those in the high group had an average brain age 2.6 years older.
Of the sleep characteristics, bad sleep quality, difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, and early morning awakening were linked to greater brain age, especially when people consistently had these poor sleep characteristics over five years.
“Our findings highlight the importance of addressing sleep problems earlier in life to preserve brain health, including maintaining a consistent sleep schedule, exercising, avoiding caffeine and alcohol before going to bed, and using relaxation techniques,” says author Kristine Yaffe, MD, of the University of California San Francisco and a member of the American Academy of Neurology, in a release. “Future research should focus on finding new ways to improve sleep quality and investigating the long-term impact of sleep on brain health in younger people.”
A limitation of the study was that participants reported their own sleep problems, and it is possible they may not have reported them accurately.
The study was funded by the National Institute on Aging.
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