Study reveals how poor sleep can affect our brains

Everyone’s concerned about skin ageing, avoiding excess sun exposure and slathering expensive creams to prevent early ageing. But what about brain ageing? When the brain ages faster than usual, cognitive decline begins as well. And do you know the culprit behind this? Your sleep. 

Consider sleep as an essential ‘braincare’ activity that rejuvenates and restores your brain health. The inability to sleep is a common condition that most sleep-deprived or self-proclaimed ‘night owls’ brush off casually in the morning with a cup of coffee. But it seems there’s more to sleep problems than meets the eye.

A study from the American Academy of Neurology, published in the journal Neurology, identified sleep disturbances in middle-aged adults, such as poor sleep quality or an inability to fall asleep, as major warning signs for early brain ageing. The study elaborated that sleep problems may accelerate brain ageing by up to 3 years. Let’s see what else the study revealed.

More about the research
The study, which spanned decades, tracked the ageing of the participants. Initially, 589 people in their 40s were asked to complete a questionnaire reporting their sleep problems. The second set of questionnaire surveys was provided after 5 years. Finally, brain scans were conducted 15 years after the first survey to examine how their brains aged and whether this was associated with their reported sleeping patterns. Researchers assessed their brain age, a metric that measures the rate of brain shrinkage, which typically increases with age.

Brain ageing years
The researchers found a correlation between the number of ageing years and the number of sleep problems. They discovered that people with two to three sleep issues displayed signs of accelerated brain ageing, with their brains appearing about 1.6 years older compared to those with only one sleep-related issue. Similarly, individuals with three or more sleep issues showed brain ageing up to 2.6 years faster.

The researchers recommended developing healthy sleeping patterns for good brain health. They suggested following a strict, consistent sleep schedule, avoiding coffee and alcohol before bed, getting plenty of exercise, and resorting to relaxation techniques when experiencing difficulty sleeping.

Dr Kristine Yaffe, a researcher at the University of California San Francisco and a member of the American Academy of Neurology, said, “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. 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.”

Dr Clémence Cavaillès, a researcher at the University of California San Francisco and co-author of the study, added, “Our study, which used brain scans to determine participants’ brain age, suggests that poor sleep is linked to nearly three years of additional brain ageing as early as middle age.”