A large, long-term study from the Mayo Clinic, tracking 2,750 adults (aged 50 and over) for an average of five and a half years, found that chronic insomnia leads to changes in the brain that result in a much faster decline in memory and thinking. Chronic insomniacs were 40% more likely to develop cognitive impairment or dementia over the study period than people that got good sleep. Participants underwent brain scans each year that measured two markers of future cognitive trouble: the buildup of amyloid plaques, and spots of damage in the brain’s white matter.
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