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WASHINGTON – One of the most important ways to keep your body healthy is to exercise – it can help prevent chronic disease, prolong life, prevent dementia, cognitive decline and much more.
However, the amount of sleep you get can be just as important – at least when it comes to the benefits of exercise and how well your brain works as you age.
In a new study, researchers found that people who exercised frequently and slept an average of less than six hours a day experienced a general cognitive decline compared to short sleepers who exercised less frequently.
“Our study suggests that we may need to get enough sleep to reap the full cognitive benefits of exercise,” said lead author Dr. Michaela Blumberg, a research fellow at the Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care at University College London.
“It shows how important it is to consider sleep and physical activity together when thinking about cognitive health,” she said in a statement.
Ten years of study
Researchers followed nearly 9,000 adults for more than 10 years in the Longitudinal Study of Aging in England, a longitudinal study of people over 50 funded by the UK government and the US National Institute on Aging. In addition to the initial exercise, participants undergo a series of interviews and cognitive tests every two years.
Anyone with dementia or test results suggestive of cognitive decline were excluded from the study, published Wednesday in the Lancet Healthy Longevity journal.
It shows how important it is to consider sleep and physical activity together when thinking about cognitive health.
– Dr. Michaela Bloomberg, study leader
Based on previous research evidence, The new study found that people who were more physically active and slept six to eight hours a day had better cognitive function in old age.
Similarly, lack of physical activity and poor sleep are associated with poorer cognitive performance over time. Additionally, sleeping less than six hours a night has been linked to faster cognitive decline over time.
The most physically active group in the study was younger and thinner at baseline, married or partnered, less likely to smoke, drink, or have severe depression or illness, and had higher levels of education and wealth than the least active group.
Despite these benefits, at the end of 10 years, the most active people in their 50s and 60s who slept an average of less than six hours had lost the benefits of exercise—they were declining faster and had the same level of cognition as those who didn’t. I don’t exercise.
“Regular exercise may not always be enough to counteract the long-term effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive health,” Bloomberg said.
We were surprised that regular exercise might not always be enough to counteract the long-term effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive health.
– Dr. Michaela Bloomberg, study leader
Additionally, physically active short sleepers in their 50s and 60s experienced more rapid cognitive decline than better sleepers — but only with a certain age. In people aged 70 and over, the benefits of exercise on the brain were maintained despite short sleep.
“At age 70, the cognitive benefit associated with high-intensity physical activity was maintained over a 10-year follow-up period,” the authors said, without explaining why.
“Our results suggest that it is important to consider physical activity and sleeping together, because these factors can be combined in a complex way and affect cognitive processes from the age of 50,” the authors concluded.
Want to get more sleep?
It’s a common myth in today’s stressed-out world, get it all done—we can sleep six hours or sleep overnight. But in fact, only people with a short sleep gene have this ability.
For most of us, sleeping less than six hours a day can only harm the brain. Short sleepers are five times more likely to have a stroke and double the risk of heart disease and death, along with other common conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure.
If you’re sleeping less than you would by choice, it might be time to rethink that decision. If you suffer from insomnia, sleep apnea or other sleep disorders, consulting a sleep specialist is key, experts say. In the meantime, here are some healthy sleep habits you can try.
First, forget the sleeping pills. They only mask the problem, experts say, and can be dangerously addictive. Instead, focus on sleep hygiene by changing your sleep environment.
Keep it cool in the bedroom – 60 to 67 degrees Fahrenheit is good for a good night’s sleep. Do not watch TV or work in your bedroom; You want your brain to think of the room as just sleep.
Turn off all lights, including the blue light from cell phones or laptops, that signal your body to wake up.
Rethink afternoon coffee—and that night. Using alcohol to help you sleep will make you wake up within a few hours and when you do fall asleep again, it’s usually poor quality.
Experts say that one of the most important things is to set a sleep schedule and stick to it. Your brain needs to be trained to go to bed at a certain time and wake up at a certain time every day, including weekends.
And the golden rule of sleep? Don’t sleep in bed. If you don’t fall asleep within 15 to 20 minutes of your head hitting the pillow, get up and go to a dimly lit room. Don’t turn on the TV or look at your phone or laptop – instead, do something mindless, like curl up. Once you feel sleepy, go back to bed.
And don’t worry – this won’t put anyone to sleep. Keep training your mind and it will respond with well needed zs.
How much do you sleep on average?
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