Category: Sleep

Does exercise help the brain ?

Yes, moderate and vigorous physical activity helps the brain to stay sharp.

A large study looked at people born across England, Scotland and Wales in 1970 and followed-up throughout childhood and adulthood

A report of the study with 4481participants (52% female) found that moderate and vigorous physical activity helps cognition compared to light intensity physical activity.

But a word of caution though !

People with sedentary behaviour in this study had better brain sharpness than doing light intensity physical activity !

It seems bizarre to suggest Sedentary activities are good for brain !

We don’t know why this study showed this particularly unexpected finding. It could be that the study missed to collect some important information that influences brain.

This fact about sedentary behaviour is counterintuitive but science does sometimes show unexpected results. Sometimes unexpected findings are true and Sometimes they are false due to data collection issues or convoluted statistical tests.

That’s why it is important that information from multiple studies is taken together rather than relying on one study to make any scientific conclusion on any topic !

References

Exploring the associations of daily movement behaviours and mid-life cognition: a compositional analysis of the 1970 British Cohort Study.

Minerva. BMJ. Physical activity and cognition in middle age.

Disclaimer: Please note – This blog is NOT medical advice. This blog is NOT a expert medical opinion on various topics. This blog is purely for information only and do check the sources where cited. Please DO consult your own doctor to discuss concerns and options relevant to you. The views expressed in this blog are NOT, in any way whatsoever, intended to be a substitute for professional advice. The blog is NOT previewed, commissioned or otherwise endorsed, in any way, by any organisation that the author is associated with. The views expressed in this blog likely represents some of the author’s personal views held at the time of drafting the blog and MAY CHANGE overtime, particularly when new evidence comes to light.

Poor Sleep and Heart attacks

A study reports that going to sleep 10pm is linked to lower risk of heart disease.

The study suggests that “Early or late bedtimes may result in individuals missing cues that help reset body clock each day”

The association with increased heart problems was stronger in females.

Even though going to bed early is very hard with globally interconnected mobile devices, it is important we all sleep well !

References

Guardian newspaper. Sleep at 10pm linked to lower risk of heart disease, study finds.
Nicola Davis Science correspondent
@NicolaKSDavis
Tue 9 Nov 2021 00.05 GMT

Accelerometer-derived sleep onset timing and cardiovascular disease incidence: a UK Biobank cohort study
Shahram Nikbakhtian, Angus B Reed, Bernard Dillon Obika, Davide Morelli, Adam C Cunningham, Mert Aral, David Plans
European Heart Journal – Digital Health, ztab088, https://doi.org/10.1093/ehjdh/ztab088
Published: 09 November 2021

Disclaimer: Please note – This blog is NOT medical advice. This blog is NOT a expert medical opinion on various topics. This blog is purely for information only and do check the sources where cited. Please DO consult your own doctor to discuss concerns and options relevant to you. The views expressed in this blog are NOT, in way whatsoever, intended to be a substitute for professional advice. The blog is NOT previewed, commissioned or otherwise endorsed, in any way, by any organisation that the author is associated with. The views expressed in this blog likely represents some of the author’s personal views held at the time of drafting the blog and MAY CHANGE overtime, particularly when new evidence comes to light.

Do poor sleepers die early ?

Yes !

If someone feels they are not having regular refreshing sleep, then it is bad news.

In a very large U.K. study, involving 487,728 people, the following question was asked: Do you have trouble falling asleep at night or do you wake up in the middle of the night?

About a quarter of people in study answered “never/rarely”; just under half answered “sometimes” and less than one-third reported “usually”.

The people in study were followed up for many years (mean follow-up time = 8.9 years)

The people who reported frequent sleep disturbances (“usually” category) were found to be at risk of dying early.

The risk was highest in those with both diabetes and frequent sleep disturbances.

It needs to be seen whether the sleep disturbance by itself led to early death or whether people who are going to die early have medical problems that cause them to have disturbed sleep !

Sleep well. Don’t compromise sleep time !

References

Associations between sleep disturbances, diabetes and mortality in the UK Biobank cohort: A prospective population-based study
Malcolm von Schantz, Jason C. Ong, Kristen L. Knutson
First published: 08 June 2021
https://doi.org/10.1111/jsr.13392

( UK Biobank study participants experiencing sleep disturbances: 24.2% “never/rarely” ; 47.8% “sometimes” and 28.0% “usually”)

BMJ Minerva. Cognitive decline . . . and other stories. BMJ 2021; 373 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n1545 (Published 24 June 2021)
Cite this as: BMJ 2021;373:n1545

People who have trouble sleeping are at a higher risk of dying early – especially diabetics

NHS. Why lack of sleep is bad for your health

Disclaimer: Please note- This blog is NOT medical advice. This blog is NOT a expert medical opinion on various topics. This blog is purely for information only and do check the sources where cited. Please DO consult your own doctor to discuss concerns and options relevant to you. The views expressed in this blog represent the author’s views held at the time of drafting the blog and may change overtime, particularly when new evidence comes to light. The blog is not previewed, commissioned or otherwise endorsed by any organisation that the author is associated with. The views expressed in this blog are not, in way whatsoever, intended to be a substitute for professional advice.