A new study reveals that poor sleep during your 40s may speed up brain aging, with potential effects lasting into your late 50s. Conducted by Dr. Kristine Yaffe and her team at UC San Francisco, the study stresses the importance of addressing sleep problems early to maintain brain health. Recommended steps include maintaining a regular sleep schedule, exercising, avoiding caffeine and alcohol before bedtime, and practicing relaxation techniques. These habits are essential in preventing sleep-related issues that could affect cognitive performance later in life.
The study involved nearly 600 adults, around 40 years old, who completed a sleep questionnaire at the start of the study and five years later. Participants were asked if they had trouble falling asleep, woke up several times at night, or woke up too early. Researchers tracked various sleep issues, such as short sleep duration, poor sleep quality, difficulty staying asleep, and daytime sleepiness. On average, adults are advised to get seven to nine hours of sleep each night.
Participants were divided into three groups based on their sleep habits: low, middle, and high groups, depending on the number of sleep issues reported. Fifteen years later, brain scans showed that people in the middle group had brains that were, on average, 1.6 years older than those in the low group. Those in the high group, with the most sleep problems, had brains that aged 2.6 years faster. Persistent issues like poor sleep quality, difficulty falling or staying asleep, and waking up early were closely linked to faster brain aging.
The findings, published in *Neurology*, suggest an association between poor sleep and accelerated brain aging, though the study does not definitively prove that one causes the other. A limitation of the study is that participants self-reported their sleep habits, which may not have been entirely accurate. Researchers recommend further studies to explore how improving sleep quality could impact brain health, especially in younger people.
Additionally, Yale researchers reported that people in middle age with uncontrolled health issues like high blood pressure, blood sugar, or cholesterol, who also have poor lifestyle habits including lack of exercise or poor sleep, face higher risks of stroke, dementia, or depression. Experts like Dr. Thomas Kilkenny emphasize the importance of consistently good sleep for maintaining cognitive function, noting that prolonged sleep deprivation can have permanent negative effects on the brain and increase the risk of dementia.
