Many people's mistakes cause the brain to age quickly

The results of the analysis were published in the journalNeuroscienceScientists have observed that just one night of sleep loss in some cases causes significant changes in brain structure, aging the brain by 1 to 2 years.

Lack of sleep causes many harmful effects on organs, including the brain. Illustration: Hindustantimes

The German team studied 134 healthy volunteers - aged 19 to 39. Participants had their MRI data analyzed from different sleep conditions.

These are complete insomnia (being awake for more than 24 hours), partial sleep deprivation (sleeping for 3 hours/night) and chronic sleep deprivation (sleeping for 5 hours/night, lasting for 5 nights).

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

Each group had at least one night of “baseline sleep,” in which they spent eight hours in bed. All participants underwent MRI scans after each sleep session, to compare what their brains looked like before and after being sleep-deprived or getting eight hours of sleep.

The authors found that total sleep deprivation increased brain age by 1 to 2 years.

However, that doesn't mean a few nights of sleep deprivation will cause irreversible aging. While brain structure seems to age more rapidly when you're sleep deprived, scientists have also found that a full night of sleep after a sleep deprivation episode seems to reverse the effects.

“Interestingly, after a single night of catch-up sleep, brain age was no different from baseline,” they write.

The authors note that although research suggests that sleepless nights may affect the brain in the short term, more needs to be learned about the long-term effects of chronic sleep loss.

According toNew York Post, many Americans struggle to get enough sleep. A 2022 study found that nearly 50% of adults experience sleep deprivation due to juggling work and weekend schedules.

A 2022 analysis by the University of California, Berkeley, found that lack of sleep can lead to selfishness. Through three different experiments, they found that sleep deprivation can affect the way people treat each other.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that adults get at least 7 hours of sleep each night./.