Are Late Nights Secretly Ageing Your Brain?
If you often stay up late scrolling on your phone or cutting down on sleep, your brain may be paying a heavy price. A new study published in eBioMedicine has found that poor sleep makes your brain age faster, increasing the risk of memory loss, brain fog, and even dementia in the long run.
How Poor Sleep Affects Brain Health
We all know that ageing naturally impacts memory, focus, and problem-solving. However, researchers now say that poor sleep can accelerate this process, making the brain appear older than a person’s actual age.
The large-scale study analysed brain scans from more than 27,000 adults. Results showed that:
- People with interrupted or irregular sleep patterns had brains that looked 0.6 years older than their real age.
- Those with consistently poor sleep had brains that appeared over a year older than their biological age.
In simple terms, not sleeping well can make your brain age faster than the rest of your body.
Sleep’s Protective Role for the Brain
Sleep is not just about rest it plays a critical role in healing and protecting the brain. During deep sleep, the body repairs cells and reduces inflammation. Without this recovery time, the brain becomes more vulnerable to long-term damage.
The researchers developed a “sleep score” and found that for every drop in the score, brain ageing advanced by nearly half a year. This means even small, consistent disruptions in sleep can slowly push your brain towards premature ageing.
Why Does Poor Sleep Accelerate Brain Ageing?
The study highlighted chronic inflammation as a major factor. Poor sleep raises inflammation in the body, which, over time, begins to harm neurons (brain cells). When neurons are damaged, brain functions like memory, focus, and decision-making start to decline earlier than expected.
About 10% of the link between poor sleep and brain ageing was explained by this inflammatory effect. Long-term sleep deprivation keeps the body in a state of stress and inflammation, which ultimately accelerates brain cell damage.
Conclusion
The findings clearly show that quality sleep and a consistent sleep routine are essential to keep the brain young and healthy. While ageing is inevitable, adopting good sleep habits can help slow down premature brain ageing and reduce the risk of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia.
Source:Â Inputs from various media SourcesÂ
I’m a pharmacist with a strong background in health sciences. I hold a BSc from Delhi University and a pharmacy degree from PDM University. I write articles and daily health news while interviewing doctors to bring you the latest insights. In my free time, you’ll find me at the gym or lost in a sci-fi novel.
- Health News and Updates,People Forum
- 4 October 2025
- 15:00
