Everyone’s concerned about skin ageing, avoiding excess sun exposure and slathering expensive creams to prevent early ageing. But what about brain ageing? When the brain ages faster than usual, cognitive decline begins as well. And do you know the culprit behind this? Your sleep.
Consider sleep as an essential ‘braincare' activity that rejuvenates and restores your brain health. The inability to sleep is a common condition that most sleep-deprived or self-proclaimed ‘night owls’ brush off casually in the morning with a cup of coffee. But it seems there’s more to sleep problems than meets the eye.
A study from the American Academy of Neurology, published in the journal Neurology, identified sleep disturbances in middle-aged adults, such as poor sleep quality or an inability to fall asleep, as major warning signs for early brain ageing. The study elaborated that sleep problems may accelerate brain ageing by up to 3 years. Let’s see what else the study revealed.
ALSO READ: 'Sleep divorce’ is new travel trend: Why couples are choosing to ‘break up’ at bedtime while on vacation More about the research The study, which spanned decades, tracked the ageing of the participants. Initially, 589 people in their 40s were asked to complete a questionnaire reporting their sleep problems. The second set of questionnaire surveys was provided after 5 years.
Finally, brain scans were conducted 15 years after the first survey to examine how their brains aged and whether this wa.