Recent Studies Say Sleep Quality Can Influence Aging On The Brain

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JAKARTA - Scientists have repeatedly found that sleep quality is both associated with health and longevity. However, new research has found that sleep quality can affect brain aging. This is the result of research published in the journal Neurology.

The researchers analyzed the health data of 589 40-year-olds at the time the research began. Participants were asked to fill out a sleep questionnaire at the start of the study and after five years, answering a question such as: "Are you usually having trouble sleeping? Do you usually wake up a few times at night? Do you usually wake up too early?"

Participants were also evaluated based on six poor sleep characteristics, including: short sleep duration, poor sleep quality, difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, waking up too early, and drowsiness during the day. Based on this information and detailed brain scans performed on each participant, the researchers were able to calculate their official "brain age".

Scientists such as those according to their news from the Well and Good page, Thursday, October 31, found that people with two or three bad sleep characteristics have brains aged about 1.6 years older than those without sleep disorders. And those with more than three characteristics of poor sleep have an average brain age of 2.6 years older than those with one or less than poor sleep characteristics. Finally, the researchers concluded that "bad sleep quality is associated with an elderly brain age in middle age."

If you are currently experiencing sleep problems, it's only natural to worry a little about these findings, but you don't have to stress because of them. First, it's important to show that these studies only find a link between people who say they have trouble sleeping at two different times and older brain age.

There are many other factors that affect brain health, making it difficult to link them all to sleep. In addition, it is very possible that participants are only in sleep-deficient condition while they are following a questionnaire, and it does not reflect how they sleep as a whole.

Even so, sleep quality is still important for various reasons. And, can quality sleep help your brain age more slowly? Even better.

You may already know that good sleep is important, but keep in mind: Adults have to sleep for seven to nine hours per night, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). If you sleep less than that, you may be at higher risk of experiencing some health problems including cardiovascular disease, metabolic problems, and hormonal problems, according to NHLBI.

Although sleeping more than seven hours every night should be a priority, your sleep quality is also important. That usually starts with sleep hygiene, which you can improve by following the following tips, according to NHLBI: