Lack of sleep causes our brain to age

What many people don’t know, however, is that our brain also suffers and ages – at least temporarily, how Scientists from Forschungszentrum Jülich in a study popped up. Just one sleepless night can make our brains work to extend our brain life by two years, as shown in a study of 134 volunteers. The good news: After the test subjects slept normally after one night, their brain condition returned to normal. And: In test subjects who slept only a few hours at night, there was no premature aging.

Lack of sleep can promote Alzheimer’s disease

Lack of sleep can also have other consequences for your brain. In order for our brain to repair damaged DNA, it must be in a resting state. If you do not get enough sleep, there is a risk that nerve cells will degenerate. This can cause diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease.

The researchers explain this by saying that beta-amyloid is increasingly cleared from the brain during the night. This is a waste product that builds up in the cerebrospinal fluid. With a permanent lack of sleep, this process is impaired. The result: increased protein deposits can form. These can, in turn, clump together, sticking to the points of connection (synapses) between neurons, thus promoting dementias such as Alzheimer’s disease.