Brain MRIs reveal the costly price of chronic poor sleep habits

A new MRI analysis reveals how poor sleep habits can lead to advanced brain aging later in life. 

Published in Neurology, the new data adds to the mounting evidence indicating the critical role sleep plays in a person’s overall health. Researchers found that individuals who reported even moderate sleep disturbances showed accelerated brain age compared to their peers who felt they had overall healthy sleep habits. 

The study included nearly 600 participants from the CARDIA study. The team analyzed data acquired over a period of 15 years, including brain MRIs and information related to six different sleep characteristics. At baseline, participants self-reported information on short sleep duration, bad sleep quality, difficulty initiating and maintaining sleep, early morning awakening, and daytime sleepiness. Participants rated each characteristic on a scale of 0-1, 2–3, and >3, with higher scores indicating more problematic sleep habits. 

Researchers applied machine learning techniques to the group’s MRI scans 15 years after their baseline visits to compare changes in participants’ brain age versus their chronological age. The team found that the brain age of those who reported between two and three poor sleep characteristics was nearly two years ahead of those who reported one or less. Similarly, those who acknowledged three or more poor sleep characteristics had brain ages nearly three years ahead. 

Bad sleep quality, difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep and early morning awakening were to blame for the largest gaps in brain age. 

“Our findings highlight the importance of addressing sleep problems earlier in life to preserve brain health, including maintaining a consistent sleep schedule, exercising, avoiding caffeine and alcohol before going to bed and using relaxation techniques,” study author Kristine Yaffe, MD, of UC San Francisco, and colleagues noted. 

In recent years, efforts to increase awareness around the importance of sleep health have been growing. In 2022, the American Heart Association added sleep to its Life’s Essential 8—a checklist of various metrics considered critical to maintaining brain and cardiovascular health.