Healthy sleep is linked to improved brain structure and better thinking skills among people living with type 2 diabetes, heart disease or a history of stroke, according to a major study involving 408,977 adults.
Published November 4 in the Journal of the American Heart Association, the research from Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet highlights the potential importance of everyday sleep habits for brain health, particularly among people managing serious chronic diseases.
Researchers analyzed data from the UK Biobank, identifying 54,017 participants with at least one of the three conditions. Brain MRI scans were available for 34,913 participants across the broader study.
The team examined five sleep factors covering duration, insomnia symptoms, snoring, daytime sleepiness and whether a person preferred mornings or evenings.
Among participants with cardiometabolic disease, healthier overall sleep scores were associated with better performance in general cognition, reasoning and information-processing speed.
MRI findings also revealed larger total brain volume, including grey and white matter, among participants with healthier sleep patterns. The association between sleep and brain structure was stronger among those with these conditions.
The findings carry significant relevance for Filipinos. Philippine Statistics Authority records show that ischaemic heart diseases caused 134,074 deaths in 2024, making them the country’s leading cause of death. Cerebrovascular diseases, including stroke, ranked third with 68,729 deaths, while diabetes ranked fifth with 43,989.
“Our findings suggest that healthy sleep may help offset some of the adverse consequences of cardiometabolic disease for the brain,” said Abigail Dove, a researcher at Karolinska Institutet.
“This is meaningful because for most people, improving sleep is an accessible and achievable goal.”
The findings highlight healthy sleep as an accessible habit worth prioritizing for people managing these conditions, with measurable differences in brain structure and cognitive performance associated with better sleep patterns.
