
Photo: Erik-Jan Leusink, Unsplash
Easily Overlooked Aspects Of Health Can Really Have A Dark Side:
We’ve talked about stealth-health concerns before. Those invisible facets that could make-or-break your well-being without you even knowing it.
But sometimes, the most dangerous risks aren’t hiding in your ultra-processed food or lurking like PFAS or microplastics in your environment.
Sometimes they’re right there in your bedroom, (no, not the SO; different problem) showing up night after night in the form of tossing, turning, and checking the clock at 3 AM.
And a team from UCSF just discovered something pretty alarming about those sleepless nights…
The Short Answer:
- Many people think a certain amount of problems with sleep are par for the course.
- These can actually be more serious than they thought; and possibly cumulative.
- UCSF researchers looked at about 600 middle-aged adults’ sleep habits.
- They followed up with brain scans 15 years later.
- 70% of them had only one sleep issue.
- But the other 30% had 2 or more.
- Your brain naturally starts shrinking a tiny bit in your 30s and 40s.
- But subjects with 2-3 sleep problems had brains that looked 1.6 years older.
- Those with the most sleep troubles had brains aged up to 2.6 extra years.
- Just having trouble falling asleep or waking up too early can speed up brain aging.
- These problems are often correlated with higher rates of Dementia.
- The good news? There are several ways to fix sleep problems early that might help protect your brain.
Read on to find out the details…
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“Normal” Problems Can Hit You Like A Train You Never Saw Coming:
Think about your typical night. Maybe you scroll through your phone for an hour before drifting off.
Or perhaps you wake up at 4 AM, with your mind racing about tomorrow’s meetings.
Seems normal enough, right? We all have rough nights sometimes.
But here’s where it gets scary.
Those “normal” sleep problems? They might be aging your brain; and faster than you’d think.
UCSF Team Looks Into Your Bedroom. Sort-Of:
The UCSF team tracked about 600 subjects from the CARDIA study, starting when they were around 40 years old.
They asked them some pretty basic questions about their sleep:
- Are you having trouble falling asleep?
- Are you waking up in the middle of the night?
- What is your sleep quality like?
- Are you finding yourself wide awake too early?
- How long do you usually sleep?
- Are you routinely sleepy during the day?
Five years after, they were asked the same questions again.
Then 10 years after that, the team looked at everyone’s brains using special scans.
Sweet Dreams Are Not Made Of This! The Unfortunate Results:
Here’s where the stats start to get interesting; and a little bit concerning.
About 70% of people reported sleeping pretty well or having a maximum of one problem.
But the other 30%? Not so much.
- The 22% with 2-3 problems had brains that looked 1.6 years older
- The remaining 8% with 3 or more problems had brains that looked 2.6 years older
These rates were discovered at the threshold of subjects reporting problems for at least 5 years.
And to that end, think of your brain’s aging process like the changing ride quality of shock absorbers on your car.
The wear and tear happens so gradually that you barely notice it day to day.
A Beautiful Mind! Getting Your “Beauty Rest” Is Just The Start:
Then one day you hit a pothole and suddenly realize something’s not quite right.
By then, you’re already dealing with the consequences of that long-term wear and tear.
This isn’t about just feeling groggy the next day. When that sleep-debt builds up, your brain ages faster and it can lead to all sorts of problems down the road.
As Indiana Jones once said, “It’s not the years honey, it’s the mileage.”
And in this case, the “mileage” may add-up to brain-atrophy that is also correlated with Dementia.
The Good News On How To Avoid Problems Later By Starting Now!:
Before you lose sleep worrying about losing sleep [Paging Alanis Morisette], there is some hope.
The UCSF researchers believe that addressing sleep problems early could help protect your brain – like catching a small leak before it floods your basement.
Best of all, these are things most of us can start doing tonight.
Here are the most effective strategies research, including some from the NSF, has identified:
- Create a cave-like bedroom (65-68°F, dark, quiet)
- Try the “one foot out” trick to help regulate your temperature
- Get the right pillow for you, even if you have to try several. It’s just as important as your mattress.
- Follow your body’s light rhythms. Bright light in morning, dim in evening, no screens 1h before bed.
- Consider using alarms for both when to wake up and when to go to sleep, even on weekends.
- No alcohol or big meals within 3 hours of bedtime.
- No caffeine after 8 hours before bedtime.
- Get regular exercise, but not right before bed.
- Usa a white noise machine or earplugs if your environment is noisy.
- Use blackout curtains or a sleep mask to block disruptive light.
- Practice relaxation techniques like deep breathing or meditation.
Remember, sleep is more important than food, because your body can’t “store” it like fat.
Studies show that even short periods of poor sleep can have lasting effects on brain cells – making these changes more crucial than many realize.
Just Because Sleep-Health Is Stealthy Doesn’t Make It Unimportant!:
Like the perils of added-sugar finding it’s way into your diet, poor sleep is a sneaky health risk that’s easy to brush off or coffee into oblivion.
But you need to track down that bad actor, cut it out, and work with your body’s natural rhythms to get the rest you need.
Every good night’s rest might be keeping those little gray cells just a bit younger. –Along with the cardio you should be doing every day.
And while we can’t turn back time, we can certainly try to slow down the clock by giving our brains what they need.
Think of it as an investment in yourself that Future You will thank you for.
Sweet dreams!
References & Links:
• Source: UCSF
• More Coverage: NSF
• Source Study: Neurology – Association of Self-Reported Sleep Characteristics With Neuroimaging Markers of Brain Aging Years Later in Middle-Aged Adults
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