Age-Proof Your Brain - Sleep, 5

The human brain responds to its environment and appears to function best in sync with the circadian rhythm. There is something to be said for going to bed with the dark and waking up with the light. When people impose a variation of this circadian rhythm on the brain by going to bed too late, real health consequences can occur, including increased risks for increased anxiety and autoimmune diseases.

Nan Hee Kim MD PhD studied sleep-deprived males and females and identified some disturbing results. Sleep-deprived males were more likely to have diabetes or sarcopenia (an age-related loss of muscle strength and mobility), compared with males who obtained sufficient amounts of sleep. Females with sleep deficits tended to have more belly fat and an increased risk of metabolic syndrome, which raised their risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.

Independent of lifestyle, those who went to bed later at night had a higher risk of developing health problems as compared with those who were ‘early-to-bed and early-to-rise’. This result was the same even when both groups got the same amount of sleep overall. Interesting! Give your brain the sleep it needs.

More tomorrow.