Lack of sleep accelerates aging of the brain in the elderly.

This is stated by researchers from the Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore.

The study was conducted in adults over 55 years using the method of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and neuropsychological examination.

More information about its results can be found in the journal Sleep.

Scientists have calculated that every missing hour of sleep (per day) accelerates the average annual expansion of the ventricles of the brain by more than half a percentage point, and also accelerates the decline in cognitive functions. Age atrophy of the brain is especially pronounced in the ventricles - interconnected cavities filled with cerebrospinal fluid.

Although the accelerated increase in the ventricles of the brain is a marker of the decline in cognitive functions and neurodegeneration, scientists say that "the impact of a lack of sleep on this indicator has never been measured by anyone".

The new study adds valuable data: "Every hour of lack of sleep corresponds to an acceleration of annual expansion of the ventricles of the brain by 0.59%, as well as a fall in cognitive functions by 0.67% in the following 2 years. Results remain reliable after the addition of factors such as sex, age, education and body mass index ».

The study involved 66 men of Asian descent, who were periodically conducted MR scanning of the brain and measured the volume of the ventricles. All participants also underwent a series of special neuropsychological tests every 2 years.

The questionnaire, which was filled out each time by participants, included questions concerning the duration of sleep. All participants were observed in the framework of the study of the aging of the brain of the Singapore-Longitudinal Aging Brain Study, which was repeatedly covered in the scientific literature.

In the publication Sleep, the authors published such conclusions about the connection with the inflammatory reaction: "In healthy elderly people, sleep duration is associated with age-related brain atrophy and deterioration of cognitive functions. These connections do not depend on the inflammatory response of these subjects ".

To confirm this, the scientists made blood tests for markers of a systemic inflammatory reaction, such as C-reactive protein (CRP).

Optimal duration of sleep.

The lead author of the study, Michael Chee, a specialist in neuroscience, cognitive and behavioral diseases at Duke-NUS, talks about the optimal length of sleep: "Scientific work suggests that 7 hours of sleep per day is the optimal sleep time for an adult, to restore its cognitive performance. In the following years, we hope to pinpoint what is good for brain health and cardiometabolic health ".

The importance of research for the elderly.

Professor Chi told Medical News Today that his work was trying to fill the gap that exists in our knowledge of the risk factors for the aging population. The professor hopes that the results of his work will help reduce the risk of cognitive deficits in thousands of elderly people.

"One of the difficulties is convincing people to pay more attention to sleep.

We have a large gap between the results of laboratory studies that are small in sample, short-term, but very detailed, and between epidemiological studies - large-scale, but not as detailed and not paying attention to intermediate points, such as cognitive deficits. For the rapidly aging population of Asia, it is necessary to conduct more such work that will fill the gaps in our knowledge and give people the truth about the modifiable risk factors ".

medbe. en.

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