ISLAMABAD: Poor sleep in middle age can harm brain health, according to a recent Australian study.
According to researchers of the Australian National University (ANU), the study examined the sleep habits of 29,000 persons aged between 37 and 73.
The study found that getting less than six hours of sleep every day or more than nine hours of sleep was associated with lower brain volume and cognitive health, which are crucial for reaction time and memory. Daytime dozing was also found to be linked to impaired brain health.
Tergel Namsrai, research leader and a Ph.D. candidate at ANU, argued the findings could provide the basis for treating neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia, Xinhua reported.
“The mechanisms underlying the association between sleep and brain health are not well understood – there is much to be done,” she said.
Brain health in old age
“But our study reveals it could be a key target if we want to improve brain health in old age and delay the onset of dementia.”
According to World Health Organisation (WHO), over 55 million people across the world currently have dementia – a figure expected to rise to 150 million by 2050.
A report published in February by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) revealed dementia had surpassed heart disease as the main cause of disease burden in elderly Australians for the first time.
There is currently no treatment for dementia, which Namsrai said made it more crucial to identify risk factors.
“Around 20 percent to 40 percent of dementia cases are attributable to non-genetic factors, modifiable,” she said.
“The most well-known of these include alcohol misuse, smoking, and obesity. But sleep is an emerging risk factor.”
