A new study published in the journal Neurology says that poor sleep in middle age can put you at risk for dementia later in life. Veuer’s Matt Hoffman has the story.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Poor sleep in middle age can put you at risk for dementia later in life.
00:04That's according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Neurology.
00:07The authors asked 589 participants around age 40 to self-report
00:12whether they experienced several characteristics of poor sleep.
00:15Short sleep duration, bad sleep quality, difficulty initiating and maintaining sleep,
00:20early morning awakening, and daytime sleepiness.
00:2315 years later, the authors performed MRI brain scans on those same participants.
00:28Subjects who reported 2 to 3 poor sleep characteristics were 1.6 years older in so-called brain age,
00:35while subjects who reported 3 or more characteristics were 2.6 years older in brain age.
00:40Co-author Clemens Caballes told Medpage Today,
00:43advanced brain aging is associated with cognitive decline and Alzheimer's-related atrophy patterns.
00:49Therefore, poor sleep may be an important target for early interventions
00:52aimed at preventing neurocognitive decline.
00:55If you're trying to improve your sleep, clinical psychologist Dr. Shelby Harris told CBS News,
01:00cut back on caffeine and alcohol before bed, try relaxation techniques, and make sure you get enough exercise.