A recent study published in the eBioMedicine journal suggests that individuals experiencing poor sleep quality may exhibit brains that appear older than their actual age. This study, which focused on the association between poor sleep and brain aging, adds to existing research linking poor sleep to conditions such as dementia.
According to Abigail Dove, a researcher at the Karolinska Institutet, the findings indicate that inadequate sleep could accelerate brain aging, with inflammation being identified as a potential underlying mechanism. Dove highlights the potential for preventing accelerated brain aging and cognitive decline by promoting healthier sleep habits.
The study, conducted on 27,500 middle-aged and older participants from the UK Biobank who underwent brain MRIs, utilized machine learning to estimate the biological age of each individual’s brain based on its health status. Comparing this estimated brain age to their chronological age revealed a disparity known as the brain age gap.
Participants were evaluated based on their sleep quality using a scoring system that considered factors such as wake-up times, sleep duration, and presence of sleep disturbances. Those with poor sleep quality exhibited a wider brain age gap compared to individuals with healthier sleep patterns, with every decrease in the healthy sleep score leading to an increase in the brain’s perceived age.
The study concluded that an older brain age could signal suboptimal brain health and potentially increase the risk of developing dementia. Further investigations are needed to explore whether enhancing sleep quality could positively impact brain and cognitive health.
Additionally, the study noted that individuals with intermediate and poor sleep patterns were more likely to be older, male, have a higher body mass index, and suffer from cardiometabolic diseases. They were also less likely to have a college education or maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Possible explanations for the impact of sleep on brain aging include disruptions to the brain’s waste clearance system, which operates predominantly during sleep, and adverse effects on cardiovascular health that may subsequently affect brain function.