Most Scots not getting enough sleep as organisation urges focus on brain health

Middle-aged Scots are not getting at least seven hours of sleep a night, pollsters have found, with almost four in 10 revealing they are stressed.

A survey of 30 to 59-year-olds across Scotland revealed more than half are not getting the recommended minimum sleep, with almost 40% telling pollsters at IpsosMORI they feel stressed often or all of the time.

And in the poll of 931 Scots, one third told the Brain Health Scotland survey that their opportunities for social engagement are limited to only once a month or less.

Now the initiative, which is hosted and supported by charity Alzheimer Scotland, is urging people to take steps to keep their brains healthy in later life – to sleep more, stress less and socialise.

Anna Borthwick, executive lead at Brain Health Scotland, said: “Being mindful of our stress levels, sleep patterns and sociability – as well as wider health aspects – can help us as a nation to improve our brain health and reduce the number of people developing dementia.”

According to the initiative, good brain health not only lessens the risk of dementia but also improves mental wellbeing.

Scots are also being encouraged to see factors often linked to heart disease – weight and expose to air pollution – as key contributors to good brain health.

In the survey, 55% of those asked were clinically overweight and 53% said they were exposed to air pollution once or twice a week.

As we sleep, our brains clean themselves, flushing out waste products that accumulate each day. But disrupted sleep can interfere with this process, causing a build-up of harmful proteins.

And according to Brain Health Scotland, when stress levels get too high the hormones released can be toxic to brain cells, increasing the likelihood of problems linked to memory and thinking.

But being sociable stimulates our brains and makes stress or depression less likely, and Brain Health Scotland said it builds a reserve capacity that cuts the risk of memory defects, processing difficulties and dementia.

Henry Simmons, chief executive of Alzheimer Scotland, said: “Findings like these demonstrate the huge opportunity we all have to support positive actions that can help protect brain health throughout life.”

The study team has released a new Brain Health Plan app, available through its website, which sets out the key facts of good brain health.

The brain health survey was carried out in December, with the initiative set to repeat it annually so key markers can be tracked over time.