People who experience sleep issues, such as difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep in their 40s, may show more signs of brain ageing in late midlife. Poor sleep may accelerate brain atrophy that is associated with dementia.
The brain naturally begins to atrophy starting in the 30s and 40s. But this can accelerate with dementia, traumatic brain injury and stroke.
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Previous studies have linked sleep problems to poor thinking and memory skills later in life, which can increase the risk for dementia. The study published in the journal Neurology included 589 people with an average age of 40. They completed questionnaires about their sleep patterns at age 40 and again five years later. They had brain MRIs at about age 55 to estimate their brain age based on the actual degree of brain shrinkage.
Researchers focused on six poor sleep characteristics—short sleep duration, bad sleep quality, difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, early morning awakening and daytime sleepiness.
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After adjusting for factors such as age, sex, high blood pressure and diabetes, researchers found people who had two to three poor sleep characteristics had an average brain age that was 1.6 years older than those who had none or only one poor sleep characteristic. Those who had more than three had an average brain age that was 2.6 years older.
"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,” said the co-author.
