By Rebecca Whittaker

Copyright independent

Research from the Karolinska Institutet indicates that poor sleep accelerates brain ageing, making brains appear significantly older than their actual age.

The study analysed MRI scans and sleep behaviour of over 27,000 UK adults aged 40 to 70, using machine learning to determine brain age.

Participants with poor sleep had brains that appeared, on average, one year older than their chronological age, with a six-month increase for every point decrease in healthy sleep score.

Increased inflammation was identified as a key contributing factor, accounting for 10 per cent of the connection between poor sleep and accelerated brain ageing.

Researchers suggest that since sleep is modifiable, improving sleep habits could potentially prevent accelerated brain ageing and cognitive decline