{"id":32159,"date":"2016-06-16T10:00:16","date_gmt":"2016-06-16T17:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/?p=32159"},"modified":"2016-06-15T10:51:05","modified_gmt":"2016-06-15T17:51:05","slug":"sleeplessness-fatigue-linked-to-age-related-brain-atrophy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/sleeplessness-fatigue-linked-to-age-related-brain-atrophy-0616161","title":{"rendered":"Sleeplessness, Fatigue Linked to Age-Related Brain Atrophy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-32161\" src=\"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Tired-man-napping-in-chair-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"A tired man napping in a chair\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" data-id=\"32161\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Tired-man-napping-in-chair-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Tired-man-napping-in-chair-800x533.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Seniors who experience excessive fatigue during the day may have more brain atrophy than well-rested seniors, according to a study presented at SLEEP 2016, the 30<sup>th<\/sup> Anniversary Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS). Researchers found atrophy was greatest in regions of the brain vulnerable to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/psychpedia\/alzheimer-disease\">Alzheimer\u2019s<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/learn-about-therapy\/issues\/aging\">age-related decline<\/a>, suggesting fatigue could be an early sign of brain degeneration.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>The Link Between Fatigue and Brain Atrophy<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>For their study, researchers worked with 1,374 cognitively normal seniors age 50 and older who participated in the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging. Participants completed surveys of sleepiness and fatigue and underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scans to establish baseline <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/psychpedia\/brain\">brain<\/a> functioning.<\/p>\n<p>Participants who reported high levels of daytime sleepiness had lower cognitive scores and more medical problems. They were also more likely to report <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/learn-about-therapy\/issues\/sleep-disorders#Therapy for Sleep Disturbances\">sleep disturbances<\/a>, pointing to a correlation between disturbed sleep and daytime fatigue.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Changes in Sleep: Early Dementia Warning Sign?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The study\u2019s authors suggest these results may help doctors identify people at risk for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/psychpedia\/dementia\">dementia<\/a>, increasing opportunities for early treatment. Previous research supports this claim. According to the Alzheimer\u2019s Association, changes in sleep habits are common among people with Alzheimer\u2019s. This may be due to the ways Alzheimer\u2019s changes the brain. Some common Alzheimer\u2019s-related sleep changes include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/psychpedia\/insomnia\">Insomnia<\/a> and disturbed sleep.<div class=\"content-fatwidget align-right\">\n\t<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/find-therapist.html\" target=\"_blank\">Find a Therapist<\/a><\/h2>\n\t<form action=\"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/search-redirect.html\" method=\"get\">\n\n\t\t\t<input required name=\"search[zipcode]\" placeholder=\"Enter ZIP or City\" class=\"inline-input\" type=\"text\" \/>\n\n\n\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" name=\"TOS agreement\" value=\" \" class=\"inline-btn\" title=\"Search\" onclick=\"ga('send', 'event', 'FAT Widget', 'Submit Search', 'Sidebar', {nonInteraction: true});\" \/>\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/advanced-search.html\" title=\"Advanced Search\" onclick=\"ga('send', 'event', 'FAT Widget', 'Advanced Search', 'Sidebar', {nonInteraction: true});\" >Advanced Search<\/a>\n\t<\/form>\n<\/div><\/li>\n<li>Changes in dreaming patterns. Brain scans show people with dementia spend less time in both dreaming and non-dreaming sleep cycles.<\/li>\n<li>Changes in the sleep cycle, such as napping during the day, or feeling drowsy during the day.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/psychpedia\/sundowning\">Sundowning<\/a>, an experience characterized by behavioral and cognitive changes late in the afternoon or evening.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In the late stages of Alzheimer\u2019s, seniors may spend as much as 40% of their nights awake, as well as a significant portion of the day sleeping.<\/p>\n<p>The National Sleep Foundation says some age-related changes in sleeping are normal. The foundation recommends 7-8 hours of sleep per night for seniors 65 and older, compared to 7-9 hours for adults younger than 65. The American Academy of Pediatrics is also supporting a new revised recommendation from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine for children\u2019s sleep guidelines. Also presented at SLEEP 2016, these recommendations now include as many as 16 hours of sleep for infants, 14 hours for young <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/learn-about-therapy\/issues\/child-and-adolescent-issues\">children<\/a>, and 12 hours for school-age children.<\/p>\n<p><strong>References:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Brooks, M. (2016, June 14). New AASM guideline on optimal sleep for children. Retrieved from http:\/\/www.medscape.com\/viewarticle\/864846<\/li>\n<li>National Sleep Foundation recommends new sleep times. (2015, February 2). Retrieved from https:\/\/sleepfoundation.org\/media-center\/press-release\/national-sleep-foundation-recommends-new-sleep-times<\/li>\n<li>Sleepiness and fatigue linked to brain atrophy in cognitively normal elderly. (2016, June 14). Retrieved from http:\/\/www.eurekalert.org\/pub_releases\/2016-06\/aaos-saf061416.php<\/li>\n<li>Treatments for sleep changes. (n.d.). Retrieved from http:\/\/www.alz.org\/alzheimers_disease_10429.asp<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Research on daytime fatigue shows brain atrophy may occur in seniors who experience more fatigue than others, possibly leading to early signs of dementia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2555,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[159],"tags":[242,25,397],"class_list":["post-32159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-therapy-news","tag-aging-geriatric-issues","tag-psychotherapy-issues","tag-sleep-disorders"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2555"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32159"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32159\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}