The Importance of Sleep for Cognitive Health: How Exercise Alone is Not Enough

2023-07-12 09:16:31

[Voice of Hope, July 12, 2023](Editor: Li Wenhan) Many people attach great importance to health and will spare time to exercise or do various forms of physical exercise, but they don’t sleep at night and often play on their mobile phones until late at night. A British study showed that although physical exercise can slow down the process of cognitive degeneration in the brain and help prevent dementia when people reach the age of 50 or 60, these benefits cannot be discussed without adequate sleep.

Researchers from University College London selected nearly 9,000 middle-aged and elderly people aged 50 to 95 from a long-term survey, and followed them up from 2008 to 2019, with a median duration of 10 years. At the start of the study, the participants were cognitively normal and reported their physical activity and nighttime sleep. They were then given surveys every two years that tested their cognitive abilities. The researchers used a specific method to measure the relationship between their sleep, exercise time and the rate of cognitive decline.

I often play with my phone until late at night (pixabay)

The researchers found that at the start of the study, those who exercised regularly were younger, in better shape, more focused on maintaining healthy habits, and less likely to be depressed or suffer from chronic disease; There is no noticeable difference. But over time, the negative effects of lack of sleep can offset the benefits of exercise: Among people who get enough exercise, those who sleep less than six hours a day decline faster in cognitive performance than those who get enough sleep, making them less active following 10 years. of the cognitive tests scored similarly to those who were less physically active.

However, the researchers also pointed out that this effect is more obvious in people in their 50s and 60s. Once they are over 70 years old, regardless of the length of sleep, exercise has a positive effect on maintaining brain health.

The research report was published in the latest issue of The Lancet Aging Health.

One of the report’s lead authors, Dr Mikaela Bloomberg from University College London, said: “To our surprise, regular exercise may not always compensate for the long-term cognitive health effects of sleep deprivation… For all the benefits to come, adequate sleep is a must.”

Similar studies have previously shown that people who exercise regularly and sleep between six and eight hours a day have better cognitive performance in older age than their inactive peers.

People with short sleep duration have 5 times higher risk of stroke (photoAC)

For most people, getting less than six hours of sleep a night doesn’t just affect brain function, according to CNN. People with short sleep duration have a five-fold increased risk of stroke, and double the risk of heart disease and death when combined with other conditions such as diabetes or high blood pressure.

Editor in charge: Li Zhi

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