Health YOU & YOUR
Brain Health Snooze or Lose Study finds the sleep deprived age faster PHO TOGRAPH B Y ADAM VOORHES B Y HOLLY S T. LIFER
A good night’s sleep isn’t just
refreshing: New research shows
that lack of sleep ages the brain.
Researchers asked study participants how much sleep they were
getting—first as a baseline then
five years later. Those whose
sleep decreased during the five
years showed an accelerated
mental decline during cognitive
testing that was equal to an extra
four to seven years of aging.
“Sleep regenerates neurons
that enable the brain to function
optimally,” says lead author Jane
Ferrie, Ph.D., senior researcher
at University College London
Medical School. Intriguingly, the
study found that those whose
sleep increased during the five
years also exhibited cognitive decline, possibly due to depression,
heart disease, or some other
illness. So what’s optimal? Six to
eight hours—consistently. ;
PROP STYLIST: ROBIN FINLAY
20 AARP THE MAGAZINE
