Sleep deprivation is linked to brain aging: new study

This is your brain on sleep deprivation.

A shortage of shuteye can lead to visible aging of the cerebrum, according to a new study — giving a whole new meaning to beauty sleep.

Published in the Journal of Neuroscience, scientists observed that one night of complete sleep deprivation in some cases caused significant changes in brain structure, making it look 1-2 years older.

Researchers in Germany studied 134 healthy volunteers — aged between the age of 19 and 39 — analyzing their MRI data after various states of sleep from five categories of sleep conditions.

The conditions scientists assessed were: total sleep deprivation (more than 24 hours of prolonged wakefulness), Partial deprivation (three hours time in bed for one night) and chronic deprivation, (which included five hours in bed each night for five nights).

The study also included a control group which slept eight hours a night.

Each group had at least one night of “baseline sleep” where they spent eight hours in bed. All participants had an MRI taken after each sleep, to compare what their brains looked like before and after sleep deprivation, and after sleeping for eight hours.

In comparison to the baseline sleep, the authors noted they “consistently” observed total sleep deprivation increased brain age by 1-2 years.

However, that doesn’t mean that a few sleepless nights causes irreversible aging — despite the brain structure appearing to age rapidly when starved of rest, researchers also found a full nights sleep following a deprived one appears to reverse the effects.

“Interestingly, after one night of recovery sleep, brain age was not different from baseline,” they wrote.

The authors say although the study indicates sleepless nights may affect the brain in the short term, research is still needed for the long-term effects of chronic sleep loss.

Many Americans battle to get enough time in bed, with a 2022 study finding nearly 50% of adults experience something called “social jet lag” from sleep deprivation caused by bouncing between work and weekend schedules.

Another study conducted by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley last year found a lack of snooze time could lead to selfishness. Through three different experiments, they discovered sleep deprivation may affect how humans treat each other.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises American adults to tuck themselves in for at least seven hours per night.