A recent study published in the journal Neurology highlights a worrying link between sleep quality in midlife and brain health later in life.
Sleep is an essential determinant of health. Its quality and duration influence long-term well-being. Illustration with this study published in the journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
In this work, led by Dr Clémence Cavaillès of the University of California at San Francisco, researchers followed 589 participants aged around 40 at the start of the study, and over 15 years. Participants regularly answered questions such as “Do you regularly have trouble falling asleep?”, “Do you wake up several times a night?” … At the end of the follow-up period, each of the participants carried out a brain scan by CT scan.
The researchers then found that people suffering from sleep problems in their early forties showed signs of accelerated brain aging in their late fifties.
Poor sleep at 40, cognitive problems at 60
“Our results suggest that poor sleep is associated with almost three years of additional brain aging,” explains Dr. Cavaillès.
To arrive at this observation, the researchers evaluated six characteristics of poor sleep:
- short sleep duration;
- poor quality of sleep;
- difficulty falling asleep;
- difficulty staying asleep;
- early morning awakenings;
- daytime sleepiness.
As a result, those who systematically suffered from these poor sleeping conditions for five years showed greater brain aging.
“Our results highlight the importance of treating sleep problems earlier in life to preserve cognitive health“, analyze the authors. Who recommend maintaining a regular sleep schedule, exercising, avoiding caffeine and alcohol before bedtime and not hesitating to use relaxation techniques to improve your sleep
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