Poor sleep may increase markers of poor brain health: Study

Medical Xpress / Yale School of Medicine / Journal of the American Heart Association ^ | Jan. 30, 2024 | Santiago Clocchiatti‐Tuozzo et al

[ConservativeMind]

Getting either too much or too little sleep is associated with changes in the brain that have been shown to increase the risk of stroke and dementia later in life, a recent study finds.

"Conditions like stroke or dementia are the end-stage result of a long process that ends tragically," says Santiago Clocchiatti-Tuozzo, MD. "We want to learn how to prevent these processes before they happen."

In one of the largest neuroimaging studies of its kind to date, the Yale team examined brain images of close to 40,000 healthy, middle-aged participants to evaluate how sleeping habits might impact two measures of brain health: white matter hyperintensities (WMH), which are lesions on the brain indicating brain aging, and fractional anisotropy, which measures the uniformity of water diffusion along nerve axons. More WMH, larger WMH, and lower fractional anisotropy are associated with increased risk of stroke and dementia.

Researchers found that compared with optimal sleep (7–9 hours per night), participants with short sleep had higher risk of WMH presence, larger WMH volume where WMH was present, and lower fractional anisotropy. Long sleep (averaging more than 9 hours per night) was associated with lower fractional anisotropy and with larger WMH volume, but not with risk of WMH presence.

"These findings add to the mounting evidence that sleep is a prime pillar of brain health," says Clocchiatti-Tuozzo. "It also provides evidence toward helping us understand how sleep and sleep duration can be a modifiable risk factor for brain health later in life."

Researchers say the study highlights middle age as an important time to adjust our sleeping habits to support brain health.

[ConservativeMind]

Let’s work to target better sleep habits, where possible, as it appears to be linked to stroke and dementia.

This could mean early conditions making stroke and dementia possible first effect sleep, rather than sleep effecting the other two, but, still, good sleep should be sought after, along with any other health tweaks we can make, to affect other conditions.

[ConservativeMind]

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[BlackVeil]

I agree with what you say. Especially in regards to dementia, I’m not sure if the poor sleep is cause or effect. Restlessness at night might be an early sign of the onset of dementia.

However, healthy sleeping habits are important, and it’s worth establishing routines which guard sleep.

[Republican Wildcat]

My body goes to sleep when it wants to go to sleep and wakes when it wants to wake...habits, schedule, etc. have had no effect. I can fall asleep one night at 11 and wake up at 8 the next day. I can fall asleep at 2 another night and wake up at 4 and not be able to go back to sleep. it’s quite annoying...

[Hojczyk]

People ages one to 23 need ten to twelve hours of sleep….after that ten hours

[goodnesswins]

I think adults vary on sleep needs. I cannot imagine sleeping 10 hours...jmho

[metmom]

Try getting a doctor these days to take much of anything seriously.

If you went, complaining of poor sleep, they’re just as likely to prescribe meds as anything.

[metmom]

My body has its own schedule. I keep hearing that the best sleep you can get is before midnight, but I cannot manage that.

I don’t sleep well until about 2-3 AM but after that the world could end and I’d never know it. Then I wake up about 8-9. on my own, with no alarms.

But wow do I sleep soundly during that time.

[linMcHlp]

“sleep is a prime pillar of brain health”

[Right Brother]

Poor sleep has a negative effect on health. Go figure. As a person who struggles with sleep, these type of obvious declarations or study results tick me off. Uhhh... no sh*t Sherlock. Insomniacs just need to get a good night’s sleep, that’s all. Gee, it’s so simple. Sorry for the rant. I guess I’m just tired. 😉

[Does so]

I have no trouble falling asleep. However, I awaken at 2
or 3. Have two mugs of coffee with my Internet, collapse about 6.

Awaken again about 8. Nap 1 hour after a 1PM lunch. Drag myself to tasks.

Doctor says I need REM sleep, but adding my nap says, “Close enough”.

[caddie]

I would say people who have call responsibilities, third shift rotations, or chronic availability at work have it bad.

The cortisol peaks and valleys are messed up, but that is just one sign.

It's wear and tear on the immune system and on the CNS, and leads to diseases including more cancers and also early deaths.

[sauropod]

Wonderful. I’m toast.

[meowmeow]

Falling asleep for a few hours, waking for a few hours, and then finishing sleep for a few hours is called biphasic sleep and may be perfectly natural for adults. There is little “science” on it, but many references in ancient literature to a first sleep and second sleep.

I’ve been experimenting with it by setting up peaceful but productive tasks before I go to bed so those waking hours are pleasant rather than laying there for 3 hours in despair because I can’t sleep! So far so good...I feel much better.
It isn’t the waking period itself that made me feel bad, it was the stress I put on myself over it!

A solid sleep block of 8 hours may be a 19th century habit, like eating 3 meals a day. IOW, not how people actually lived for most of human history.

[Lizavetta]

I do too, and for decades. I used to think it was a relic of having lots of children and having my sleep disrupted for years and years that now my body simply could not "forget" having to wake up.

I'm 60 now and rely on half a gummy and a trazodone to stay down all night. I don't like having to take things but I like 4 hours of sleep a night even less.