Department of Kinesiology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD.
Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD.
Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2021 Oct 1;53(10):2131-2139. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000002697.
Poor sleep is linked to impaired cognitive function, cortical brain atrophy, and lower cortical thickness. Independently, higher cardiovascular endurance has neuroprotective effects. It remains in question, however, whether cardiovascular endurance moderates the relationship between sleep and brain health. The aims of this study included the following: 1) the association between subjective sleep quality and cognitive performance, hippocampus volume, and entorhinal cortex (EC) thickness, and 2) the moderating effects of cardiovascular endurance on the associations of sleep quality with cognitive and magnetic resonance imaging measures in healthy younger adults.
A total of 1095 younger adults (28.8 ± 3.6 yr) from the Human Connectome Project were included in the analyses. The 2-min walk test was used as a proxy of cardiovascular endurance. Self-reported sleep quality was measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Composite cognitive tests were used to assess global cognition, and T1-weighted structural magnetic resonance imaging data (obtained using Siemens 3T scanner) was used to assess hippocampus volume and EC thickness. Linear regression was used to examine the moderating effects of fitness on the relationships between sleep and each of these neurocognitive outcomes after controlling for age, sex, and education year.
Poorer sleep quality was associated with both a lower crystalized intelligence score (B = -0.198, P = 0.034) and lower EC thickness (B = -0.013, P = 0.003). With greater 2-min walk test score, the association between greater Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score and lower EC thickness was attenuated (B = 0.0008, P = 0.028).
Higher cardiovascular endurance may mitigate the relationship between poorer subjective sleep quality and lower EC thickness. Future longitudinal studies should examine the interactive effects of sleep and fitness on brain health among older and more vulnerable populations.
睡眠质量差与认知功能障碍、大脑皮质萎缩和皮质厚度降低有关。而心血管耐力较高则具有神经保护作用。然而，目前仍不清楚心血管耐力是否会调节睡眠与大脑健康之间的关系。本研究的目的包括：1）主观睡眠质量与认知表现、海马体体积和内嗅皮层（EC）厚度之间的关系，以及 2）心血管耐力对健康年轻成年人睡眠质量与认知和磁共振成像测量结果之间关系的调节作用。
共纳入 1095 名来自人类连接组计划的年轻成年人（28.8±3.6 岁）进行分析。2 分钟步行测试被用作心血管耐力的替代指标。使用匹兹堡睡眠质量指数来评估自我报告的睡眠质量。使用复合认知测试来评估整体认知，使用 T1 加权结构磁共振成像数据（使用西门子 3T 扫描仪获得）来评估海马体体积和 EC 厚度。在控制年龄、性别和教育年限后，使用线性回归来检验体能对睡眠与这些神经认知结果之间关系的调节作用。
睡眠质量越差，与晶体智力得分越低（B=-0.198，P=0.034）和 EC 厚度越低（B=-0.013，P=0.003）相关。2 分钟步行测试得分越高，匹兹堡睡眠质量指数得分越高与 EC 厚度越低之间的关联越弱（B=0.0008，P=0.028）。
更高的心血管耐力可能会减轻较差的主观睡眠质量与较低的 EC 厚度之间的关系。未来的纵向研究应研究睡眠和健康之间的相互作用对老年人和更脆弱人群的大脑健康的影响。
