A timely study into the association of poor sleep with poor brain health has been published by researchers at ANU.
The study, published in Nature Scientific Reports and titled Poorer sleep impairs brain health at midlife, included over 29,000 people aged between 37 and 73. All participants were studied using sleep measures and brain scans, with approximately half also tested using cognitive measures.
The main findings of the study were that poor sleep characteristics are associated with poorer brain health and lower cognitive functions.
Sleep duration and dozing was consistently associated with impaired brain measures across most of the brain regions investigated.
Sleeping for less than six hours (or more than 9 hours) was associated with both lower brain volume and cognitive measures, impacting things things like reaction time and memory. Daytime dozing was also associated with some indicators of impaired brain health.
The lead author of the study, Dr. Tergel Namsrai, said there needs to be greater focus on the links between sleep and brain health, as well as more research into ways to improve sleep.
"Our study shows it could be an important target if we want to improve brain health into old age and delay the onset of dementia."
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