A new study looked for links between common sleep habits and signs of brain aging. Researchers used existing brain scans and questionnaire answers from more than 23,000 middle-aged and older adults. Teams at two universities worked on the study.
Participants completed a baseline questionnaire from 2006 to 2010 about five sleep behaviors: sleep duration, daytime napping, sleeplessness, unintentional daytime dozing and snoring. About nine years later the same people had brain MRI scans. The scans measured white matter lesion volumes, which are areas of brain damage linked to higher dementia risk.
All five sleep behaviors were first linked to more lesion volume. After researchers adjusted for blood vessel health and lifestyle, three behaviors stayed clearly linked: sleeping outside seven-to-nine hours, frequent daytime napping and sleeplessness. The authors say improving sleep may help lower brain aging and dementia risk.
Difficult words
- baseline — first data or measurement in a study
- lesion — area of damaged tissue in the body
- white matter — part of the brain with many nerve fibers
- adjust — change results to account for other factorsadjusted
- dementia — medical condition affecting memory and thinking
- sleeplessness — difficulty sleeping or not sleeping enough
- nap — short sleep during the daynapping
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- Do you nap during the day? Why or why not?
- How many hours do you usually sleep each night?
- Have you ever had trouble sleeping? What do you do then?
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