Poor sleep habits ‘can impact brain health in later life’

Extreme changes in sleep duration from middle age to older age may have a negative impact on brain health, according to new research.

The Brigham and Women's Hospital-led study evaluated associations between sleep duration in midlife and later life – as well as changes in sleep duration over time – with memory function in 15,263 participants.

It was found that women who slept five or fewer hours or nine or more hours per day had worse memory – equivalent to nearly two additional years of age – than those sleeping seven hours per day.

Meanwhile, women whose sleep duration changed by greater than two hours per day over time tended to have worse memory than females who experienced no change in sleep duration.

Study leader Elizabeth Devore of the Brigham and Women's Hospital said: "These findings add to our knowledge about how sleep impacts memory. More research is needed to confirm these findings and explore possible mechanisms underlying these associations."

This comes after a University of Helsinki study last year suggested the biological mechanisms associated with sleep loss can increase a person's risk of suffering from inflammatory diseases.