Everyone is worried about skin aging, avoiding excessive sun exposure and applying expensive creams to prevent premature aging. But what about brain aging?

When the brain ages faster than usual, cognitive decline also begins. And do you know the culprit behind it? your sleep

Think of sleep as an essential “brain care” activity that rejuvenates and restores your brain health. Inability to sleep is a common condition that most sleep-deprived or self-proclaimed “night owls” casually brush off with a cup of coffee in the morning. But it turns out there’s more to sleep problems than meets the eye.

A study by the American Academy of Neurology, published in the journal Neurology, identified sleep disturbances in middle-aged adults, such as poor sleep quality or inability to fall asleep, as major warning signs of early brain aging. The study showed that sleep problems can accelerate the aging of the brain by up to 3 years.

Let’s see what else the study revealed.

More about research

The study, which spanned decades, followed the aging of the participants. Initially, 589 people in their 40s were asked to complete a questionnaire reporting their sleep problems. The second set of questionnaires was provided after 5 years. Finally, brain scans were taken 15 years after the first survey to examine how their brains aged and whether this was associated with their reported sleep patterns.

The researchers assessed their brain age, a measure of the brain’s rate of shrinkage, which typically increases with age.

The years of brain aging

Researchers have found a correlation between the number of years of aging and the number of sleep problems. They found that people with two to three sleep problems showed signs of accelerated brain aging, with their brains looking about 1.6 years older compared to those with only one sleep problem. Similarly, people with three or more sleep problems showed brain aging up to 2.6 years faster.

Researchers have recommended developing healthy sleep patterns for good brain health. They suggested following a strict and consistent sleep schedule, avoiding coffee and alcohol before bed, getting plenty of exercise, and using relaxation techniques when having trouble 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 underscore the importance of addressing sleep problems earlier in life to maintain brain health, including maintaining a consistent sleep schedule. exercise, 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 young 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 the age of the participants’ brains, suggests that poor sleep is linked to almost three extra years. brain aging from middle age”.