Health
Poor sleep in middle age could affect the brain in a surprising way, study finds
There are some obvious signs of a poor night’s sleep — fatigue, irritability and trouble focusing, to name a few — but it can also have some hidden effects.
In a new study led by University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), poor sleep was linked to faster brain aging in middle-aged adults.
While previous studies have focused on older adults, the average age of the 589 people in this study was 40 years old, according to a press release.
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The participants completed two sleep questionnaires five years apart. After 15 years, they underwent brain scans.
In a new study led by University of California, San Francisco, poor sleep was linked to faster brain aging in middle-aged adults. (iStock)
“We calculated brain age using a machine learning approach, using MRI data to estimate the amount of brain shrinkage corresponding to a specific age,” study author Clémence Cavaillès, PhD, a researcher at UCSF, told Fox News Digital.
“We showed that poor sleep that persisted over five years — and specifically when it related to insomnia symptoms — was found to be highly relevant to brain aging.”
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When evaluating sleep quality, the researchers looked at six poor sleep characteristics: short sleep duration, bad sleep quality, difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, early morning awakening and daytime sleepiness.
“We showed that poor sleep that persisted over five years — and specifically when it related to insomnia symptoms — was found to be highly relevant to brain aging,” said the lead study author. (iStock)
Middle-aged participants with two to three poor sleep characteristics had a brain age that was 1.6 years older than those with no more than one poor sleep characteristic, according to Cavaillès.
Those with more than three poor sleep characteristics exhibited a brain age of 2.6 years older.
“Poor sleep that persisted over five years — and specifically when it related to insomnia symptoms — was found to be highly relevant to brain aging.”
The findings were published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
“These findings are critical because they demonstrate that the link between sleep disturbances and brain health extends beyond older adulthood, suggesting that poor sleep in early midlife may already contribute to accelerated brain aging,” he said.
“If someone is facing persistent problems with sleep quality or insomnia symptoms, they should undergo further evaluation,” a doctor advised. (iStock)
Advanced brain aging is associated with cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease-related patterns, the researcher noted.
“Therefore, poor sleep may be an important target for early interventions aimed at preventing neurocognitive decline, even before the lesion’s accumulation begins.”
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The researchers were surprised to find that there was not an association between sleep duration and accelerated brain aging, Cavaillès noted.
“Sleep duration in midlife may be influenced by numerous factors, such as work, stress, multitasking or menopause,” he told Fox News Digital.
Advanced brain aging is associated with cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease-related patterns. (iStock)
“Thus, it is also possible that its association with cognition is more complex during this critical period, and potentially more difficult to capture and/or less impactful.”
Overall, the study results suggest that the importance of sleep for brain health in midlife would be more closely tied to quality rather than quantity in midlife, the researcher added.
‘Integral relationship’
Dr. Jocelyn Y. Cheng, a New Jersey neurologist and spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, was not involved in the study but weighed in on the findings.
“This study provides further support for the integral relationship between sleep and brain health,” she told Fox News Digital.
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“The findings highlight particular aspects of poor sleep — specifically early morning awakening and persistent difficulty with initiating sleep, which were associated with greater estimated age-related brain atrophy as measured by MRI.”
Sleep plays a role in clearing out beta-amyloid, the protein that accumulates in the brains of people who develop Alzheimer’s disease, Cheng noted.
Sleep plays a role in clearing out beta-amyloid, the protein that accumulates in the brains of people who develop Alzheimer’s disease. (REUTERS/Denis Balibouse)
When someone gets poor sleep, that clearance ability is reduced.
“Being readily identifiable, the onset of these symptoms may represent a key timepoint during which intervention could mitigate the development of disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease later in life,” Cheng added.
Potential limitations
The study did have some limitations, including the fact that it relied on people reporting their own sleep habits, which may not always be accurate, according to Cavaillès.
“Also, because this was an observational study, we can’t say for certain that poor sleep directly causes brain aging — only that there’s a strong connection between the two,” he added.
“This study provides further support for the integral relationship between sleep and brain health.”
Cheng agreed that causation cannot be determined from the study, and also noted that it did not investigate whether brain atrophy had an impact on cognition.
Despite these limitations, she said, “There are plausible roles that poor sleep may play in brain health.”
Improving sleep quality
Based on the findings, people can improve their quality of rest by adopting several good sleep hygiene practices, Cavaillès said.
“They can start by maintaining a consistent sleep schedule, going to bed and waking up at the same time every day,” he said.
Regular exercise can help improve sleep quality, experts agree. (iStock)
“Creating an ideal sleep environment — keeping the bedroom dark, quiet and at a cool temperature — also helps.”
Regular exercise and exposure to natural sunlight can also improve sleep quality.
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Cavaillès also suggests avoiding screens and blue light, as well as stimulants like caffeine and alcohol.
“Incorporating relaxation techniques before bed, such as deep breathing or meditation, can also help prepare the body for sleep,” the researcher added.
Healthy sleep is essential for a healthy brain, experts agree. “If someone is facing persistent problems with sleep quality or insomnia symptoms, they should undergo further evaluation,” a doctor advised. (iStock)
Cheng echoed that healthy sleep is essential for a healthy brain, hence the importance of maintaining good sleep habits.
“If someone is facing persistent problems with sleep quality or insomnia symptoms, they should undergo further evaluation,” she said.
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“This may be indicative of an underlying disorder, such as obstructive sleep apnea, and intervention may improve both quality of life and overall health.”
The study was funded by the National Institute on Aging.
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Older adults classified as “SuperAgers” generate at least twice as many neurons in the hippocampus than their typical aging peers, a new study has revealed.
These findings, released on Wednesday by the University of Illinois Chicago and Northwestern University, could help explain why SuperAgers have exceptional memory and cognitive resilience even well past 80 years old.
Northwestern has been studying SuperAgers for decades, defining them as “extraordinary individuals aged 80 and above whose memory performance rivals that of people three decades younger.” The researchers use special memory recall tests to make this determination.
In this study, they analyzed post-mortem brain tissue — nearly 356,000 individual cell nuclei — with a focus on the hippocampus, which is essential for forming new memories and supporting learning and spatial navigation.
They compared tissue from SuperAgers, typical older adults, older adults with early dementia/Alzheimer’s and younger healthy adults.
SuperAger Ralph Rehbock sits with his wife in his home. New findings from the University of Illinois Chicago and Northwestern University could help explain why SuperAgers have exceptional memory and cognitive resilience well past 80 years old. (Shane Collins, Northwestern University)
The researchers found that SuperAgers produced at least twice as many new neurons compared to “cognitively normal” older adults and those with Alzheimer’s pathology.
They also found that changes in certain brain support cells (astrocytes) and key memory cells (CA1 neurons) are linked to preserved cognitive ability, helping to keep the brain sharp with age.
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The SuperAgers also had different genetic activity patterns in their brains compared to those in Alzheimer’s disease.
“SuperAgers have more immature neurons and neuroblasts in the hippocampus, which is an indication of stronger neurogenesis when compared with other groups,” study co-author Changiz Geula, research professor of cell and developmental biology and neuroscience at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, told Fox News Digital.
Northwestern University study co-author Ivan Ayala examines a SuperAger brain sample on a slide. (Shane Collins, Northwestern University)
“The study also showed that specific cells in the hippocampus show unique gene expression profiles that relate to neuronal function and transmission and are associated with superior cognitive function.”
The findings were published in the journal Nature.
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“We’ve always said that SuperAgers show that the aging brain can be biologically active, adaptable and flexible, but we didn’t know why,” said co-author Tamar Gefen, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a neuropsychologist at Northwestern’s Mesulam Institute for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease, in the release.
“This is biological proof that their brains are more plastic, and a real discovery that shows that neurogenesis of young neurons in the hippocampus may be a contributing factor.”
Dr. Tamar Gefen examines a slide of a SuperAger brain. (Shane Collins, Northwestern University)
Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, commented that the study discovered signs of plasticity and regeneration in SuperAgers.
“It confirmed not only preservation of brain tissue in the hippocampus, which is crucial for memory and cognition, but also regeneration and increased development of brain cells in that area,” Siegel, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital.
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“This is an important study because it may lead to certain cell gene treatments that could lead to more SuperAgers,” the doctor said. “It may also lead to more advanced testing to determine who will be a SuperAger and guide clinical treatment and management.”
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The study did have some limitations, primarily that the research relied on tissue samples taken at one specific point, instead of tracking changes over time.
Brain samples are fixed in blocks of wax so they can be stored and examined. (Shane Collins, Northwestern University)
Geula noted that studies using human brain tissue typically involve fewer cases than animal research, which can be a limitation. However, he emphasized that each case in this study was analyzed thoroughly.
“While these findings are not directly translatable to changes in everyday life and activities, they suggest that cognitive resilience is associated with greater integrity of many brain systems,” he told Fox News Digital. “This implies that attending to brain health is crucial for maintaining cognitive function in old age.”
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“Thus, maintaining good overall health by keeping systemic diseases in check, maintaining a healthy diet and exercise, and ensuring the elderly remain mentally active assume more importance.”
The study was funded by the National Institute on Aging, which is part of the National Institutes of Health.
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Olive oil has long been shown to benefit heart health, but a new Spanish study from Universitat Rovira i Virgili revealed that extra virgin olive oil may also protect brain health.
The study found that people who consumed virgin olive oil — rather than refined olive oil — had improved cognitive function and greater diversity in the gut biome, which the researchers claim is an “important marker of intestinal and metabolic health.”
“This is the first prospective study in humans to specifically analyze the role of olive oil in the interaction between gut microbiota and cognitive function,” lead study author Jiaqi Ni, researcher at the URV’s Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology in Spain, said in a press release.
The study used two years of data from more than 600 people between the ages of 55 and 75 who were overweight or obese and had metabolic syndrome, factors that increase the risk of heart disease.
The study suggests that olive oil protects the brain by acting on the gut microbiota. Virgin olive oil increases the diversity of beneficial bacteria, which serves as a protective shield for cognitive health. (iStock)
The researchers tracked the participants’ consumption of both refined and virgin olive oil, as well as their gut microbiota (the entire collection of living microorganisms in the human gut).
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The findings suggest that the uptick in diverse gut bacteria is the reason that people consuming virgin olive oil have improved brain health, according to the researchers. Those who consumed refined olive oil had less diversity in their gut over time.
“Not all olive oils have benefits for cognitive function.”
The main difference between refined and virgin olive oils is how they are processed, the researchers said.
Refined olive oil undergoes industrial treatments to remove impurities. These treatments degrade the oil, stripping it of the natural antioxidants and vitamins that are beneficial to human health.
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The team also did a follow-up to identify any changes in participants’ cognitive function. Those who consumed extra virgin olive oil showed improved memory, attention and executive function over two years.
Researchers identified that a specific genus of bacteria, Adlercreutzia, is a potential indicator of brain preservation. Higher levels of this bacterium were found in those who used virgin olive oil. (iStock)
Refined olive oil did not show the same cognitive benefits.
“Not all olive oils have benefits for cognitive function,” Ni noted.
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This research reinforces the idea that the quality of fat people consume is as important as the quantity, according to Jordi Salas-Salvadó, principal investigator of the study.
“Extra virgin olive oil not only protects the heart but can also help preserve the brain during aging,” he said in the press release.
The industrial refining process for refined oil strips away the polyphenols and antioxidants that are essential for the “brain-boosting” effect, researchers explain. (iStock)
Because this was an observational study focused on older Mediterranean adults with specific health risks, the findings may not apply to the public, and the study does not prove that olive oil alone caused the cognitive changes.
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The researchers noted that factors like smoking and lower education levels were more common among those using refined oil, which could skew results despite their best efforts to adjust the data.
Additionally, the study relied on self-reported diets, which could have some risk of inaccuracies.
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The study was published in the journal Microbiome.
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