Chronic insomnia can accelerate brain aging

ahsan65@gmail.comSeptember 16, 2025

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Chronic insomnia can accelerate brain aging

When you have a bad sleep night, it is the day the next day to feel that your brain does not work 100%. But a new study suggests that having difficulty falling asleep or being asleep could cause even greater problems, with long -term consequences for brain health.

The study, published in Neurologysuggests that people who suffer from chronic insomnia – which means that they find it difficult to sleep three days a week or more for at least three months – can be at an increased risk of cognitive and dementia.

For the study, the researchers examined data on 2,750 elderly people in good cognitive health, an average of around 70 years, over a period of about five years. About 16% had chronic insomnia.

All participants have undergone annual cognitive tests, including brain imagery in some cases, to analyze the potential link between brain changes and sleep disorder.

At the end of the study period, 14% of participants with chronic insomnia developed a slight cognitive disability or dementia, against 10% of people who had no insomnia.

After adjusting factors such as age, the use of sleep drugs and the diagnosis of another sleep disorder such as sleep apnea, the researchers determined that insomnia were 40% more likely to develop a light cognitive deficiency or dementia – that the research team is equivalent to 3.5 years of cerebral aging.

“”[Our results suggest that] Insomnia can be a low -health and dementia of the lower brain risk factor. Therefore, people who find it difficult to cover themselves or remain asleep should continue a medical assessment to help mitigate the risk, “said the main study author, Diego Carvalho, MD, assistant neurology professor and sleep medical medicine at Mayo Clinic Center for Sleep Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota.

How bad sleep can have an impact on brain health

Research has shown that sleep is essential for a variety of brain functions, including cognitive health, which is the ability to think, learn and recall. Some studies suggest that sleep helps to eliminate built toxins from the brain that could contribute to the development of age -related conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr. Carvalho says that the new survey is added to all evidence indicating a link between bad sleep and cognitive decline. “However, few studies have specifically examined the diagnosis of insomnia and the brain changes we have assessed,” he said.

At the start of the study, the researchers also asked the participants of insomnia that they sleep more or less than usual in the past two weeks.

Then, using brain scintigraphs, the research team looked for changes associated with cognitive problems: tissue damage pockets called hyperintensities of white substance and protein deposits called amyloid plates.

Participants with insomnia who declared that they had slept less than usual during these two weeks had more hyperintensities of the white substance and amyloid plaques than participants suffering from insomnia who not noted any problem of this type. They were also more likely to mark lower on cognitive tests.

On the other hand, participants suffering from insomnia who declared having obtained more Sleep that usually in the two weeks preceding the start of the study was more likely to have less hyperintensities of the white substance, which could point out less cognitive risk.

The study shares precious ideas but has limits

“These results stress that sleep is vital for brain health. When we see that insomnia can damage brain structures and accelerate cognitive decline, it becomes clear that the treatment of sleep disorders must be a fundamental pillar of health care, “explains Jennifer Martin, PHD, spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and a professor of medicine to the David Geffen study of the UCLA in Los Angel.

Study authors note that research has not evaluated the severity of insomnia or changes in symptoms of insomnia over time. In addition, sleep habits – including the perception of the amount of sleep of a participant – have been self -deprecated, without objective data for the study of sleep to analyze the duration of sleep and other sleep characteristics, explains Carvalho.

Dr. Martin also underlines that the participant basin can limit the ability to generalize the results to all. “More than 90% of the study participants were white, even if sleep disorders have an impact on people from all breeds and ethnic groups,” she said.

What matters like insomnia?

As the most common sleep disorder, insomnia

Can affect anyone, although it is particularly widespread in certain populations such as the elderly – with up to three adults out of four aged 65 and over with symptoms of insomnia.

People with insomnia find it difficult to fall asleep, to wake up several times a night and may not feel refreshed in the morning – even when timing and other sleep hygiene factors are ideal. This leads to a diurnal genure, which can interfere with the daily routine and life.

In the United States, around 1 out of 10 adults reports a diagnosis of chronic insomnia.

This type of insomnia is often the side effect of a medical condition, a drug, a consumption of substances or another sleep disorder – and it is different to be a night bird, or to have what experts classify like an evening chronotype, which refers to the reason for the natural sleep of the body.

“The main difference is that people who are sleeping” sleep well if they can choose their own schedule, like going to bed late and sleeping, “explains Martin. “People with insomnia cannot sleep well, no matter when they try. Being a night bird is not necessarily a problem if you can adjust your schedule and take the sleep you need. ”

Insomnia is “very treatable”

“Studies like this highlight the potentially serious long-term consequences of sleep deprivation, an increasing concern as our population is aging. More importantly, this study identifies the possibility of targeting the improvement in sleep health as a protective factor against cognitive decline, ”explains Martin.

Martin says that insomnia is “very treatable”, once diagnosed by a doctor or other health professional. Treatment options may include:

“Although we all live white nights here and there, if insomnia occurs several times a week for at least a month, has an impact on daily activities or mood, or is not improving with autoos, you should consider seeing a doctor,” explains Martin.

ahsan65@gmail.comSeptember 16, 2025

0 0 4 minutes read