Poor Sleep Quality Accelerates Brain Aging

Research shows that people who sleep poorly tend to have brain age that is older than their actual age. Chronic inflammation in the body caused by poor sleep likely plays a part. While the link between poor sleep and dementia has long been known, it was unclear whether poor sleep habits could cause dementia or whether poor sleep was an early symptom of dementia. However, new research has revealed that sleep quality may have a direct impact on the rate at which the brain ages . Our findings provide evidence that poor sleep may contribute to accelerated brain aging, explains Abigail Dove, a neuroepidemiologist at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, and point to inflammation as one of the underlying mechanisms.