CAN SLEEP LOSS AFFECT YOUR BRAIN SIZE
Sleep difficulties may
be linked to faster rates of decline in brain volume, according to a study
published in the September 3, 2014, online issue of Neurology, the medical
journal of the American Academy of Neurology
Sleep has been
proposed to be "the brain's housekeeper," serving to repair and
restore the brain.
The study included 147
adults 20 and 84 years old. Researchers examined the link between sleep
difficulties, such as having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep at night,
and brain volume.
All participants
underwent two MRI brain scans, an average of 3.5 years apart, before completing
a questionnaire about their sleep habits.
A total of 35 percent
of the participants met the criteria for poor sleep quality, scoring an average
of 8.5 out of 21 points on the sleep assessment. The assessment looked at how long
people slept, how long it took them to fall asleep at night, use of sleeping
medications, and other factors.
The study found that
sleep difficulties were linked with a more rapid decline in brain volume over
the course of the study in widespread brain regions, including within frontal,
temporal and parietal areas.
The results were more
pronounced in people over 60 years old.
"It is not yet
known whether poor sleep quality is a cause or consequence of changes in brain
structure," said study author Claire E. Sexton, DPhil, with the University
of Oxford in the United Kingdom. "There are effective treatments for sleep
problems, so future research needs to test whether improving people's quality
of sleep could slow the rate of brain volume loss. If that is the case,
improving people's sleep habits could be an important way to improve brain
health."
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