--- description: Researchers find connection between sleep deprivation and a marker of aging brains title: Less Sleep Pushes Brain to Age Faster image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Sleep](/tag/sleep/) ## Sleep Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Less Sleep Pushes Your Brain to Age Faster  by [Alice Park](/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Jul 2, 2014 12:00 PM CUT  by [Alice Park](/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Jul 2, 2014 12:00 PM CUT We know that sleep is important for a host of body functions, from weight control to brain activities, but the latest study hints that it may also keep aging processes in check. Scientists at the Duke-NUS Graduate School Singapore report in the journal _Sleep_ that among a group of 66 elderly Chinese volunteers, those who reported sleeping less each night on average showed swelling of a brain region indicating faster cognitive decline. The participants had MRI brain scans every two years, and answered questions about their sleep habits as well. Other studies have suggested that adults need about seven hours of sleep a night to maintain proper brain function; future research will investigate how sleep helps to preserve cognitive functions and hold off more rapid aging. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2946814/less-sleep-pushes-your-brain-to-age-faster/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2946814/less-sleep-pushes-your-brain-to-age-faster/"},"headline":"Less Sleep Pushes Your Brain to Age Faster","datePublished":"2014-07-02T12:00:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:55:49.239Z","description":"Researchers find connection between sleep deprivation and a marker of aging brains","url":"https://time.com/2946814/less-sleep-pushes-your-brain-to-age-faster/","keywords":["Sleep","Aging","sleep deprivation"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alice Park","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/alice-park/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/sleep/","name":"Sleep"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2946814/less-sleep-pushes-your-brain-to-age-faster/","name":"Less Sleep Pushes Your Brain to Age Faster"}}]}] ```