Poor sleep, especially in mid-life, has long been linked to a higher risk of developing dementia later.
Though researchers have only been able to find a correlation between the two, the stats are stark; a non-causal association between Alzheimer’s and sleep duration showed adults who slept under six hours were 30% more likely to develop the condition.
Recently, a paper called Association of Self-Reported Sleep Characteristics With Neuroimaging Markers of Brain Aging Years Later in Middle-Aged Adults, published in the journal Neurology, looked at the sleep patterns of participants with an average age of 40.
They found that poor sleep in that cohort seemed to age their brains (those who found it hard to nod off had a ‘brain age’ about 2.6 years older than healthy sleepers).
So what can I do if I struggle to sleep?
The paper found that bad sleep quality, difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, and struggling to get up in the morning were linked to a higher brain age, especially among those who’d had symptoms for more than five years.
“Sleep problems have been linked in previous research to poor thinking and memory skills later in life, putting people at higher risk for dementia,” study author Dr Clémence Cavaillès said.
“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.”
As someone who still battles with insomnia, that’s a tough pill to swallow ― but it’s important to remember this study only found an association, and Alzheimer’s Society states “researchers are not sure how sleep and dementia are linked.”
Additionally, one of the study’s authors, Dr Kristine Yaffe, suggested four methods that may help younger people to improve their sleep.
“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,” she said.
Yes ― researchers don’t think the onus should only fall on us.
“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 Yaffe said.
In the meantime, though, try changing the lifestyle factors you can control ― and (hard as it can be) avoid worrying about the ones you can’t, as stress isn’t exactly great for our minds either.
