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Registered Dietitian Nutritionist
Molly Knudsen, M.S., RDN is a Registered Dietician Nutritionist with a bachelor’s degree in nutrition from Texas Christian University and a master’s in nutrition interventions, communication, and behavior change from Tufts University. She lives in Newport Beach, California, and enjoys connecting people to the food they eat and how it influences health and wellbeing.
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As study co-author Fiona McNab, Ph.D., notes, “It seems to be the strategy elements of the games—planning and problem solving, for example—that stimulates better memory and attention in young people. We don’t see this same effect in older adults, however, and more research is needed to understand why this is.”
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Night owls exhibit better cognition, new research suggests. The study found that people who prefer to stay and wake up late tended to perform better on cognitive tests than early birds. Getting a decent amount of sleep was also associated with better cognition.
The research, conducted by scientists from Imperial College London in the UK, aimed to explore the relationship between different aspects of sleep and mental performance, including a person’s preferred sleep time, or chronotype. Our chronotype runs along a spectrum, with early birds preferring to sleep and wake up early and night owls preferring a late night and late morning rise.
The research team analyzed data from the UK Biobank, a longstanding research project that has followed UK residents’ health for many years. As part of the project, researchers asked volunteers to undergo various tests and fill out questionnaires about their daily habits, including sleep. The researchers split the analysis into two parts: they examined data from volunteers who had completed all four cognitive tests included in the project and those who completed two specific tests that assessed their memory and reaction time.
All told, the team examined data from over 26,000 participants ages 53 to 86, finding several links between sleep and better cognitive functioning. Those who reported sleeping the typical amount recommended, around seven to nine hours a night, tended to do better on cognitive tests than those who didn’t, for instance. But the researchers also found that self-reported night owls exhibit better cognition compared to early birds, as did people somewhere in the middle.
“Our study found that adults who are naturally more active in the evening (what we called ‘eveningness’) tended to perform better on cognitive tests than those who are ‘morning people,’” said lead author Raha West, a researcher at ICL’s Department of Surgery and Cancer, in a statement from the university. “Rather than just being personal preferences, these chronotypes could impact our cognitive function.”
The team’s findings, published this week in the journal BMJ Public Health, can show only a correlation between being a night owl and better mental sharpness, not definitively prove it. And even if this was the case, there are other potential disadvantages to being an evening person. Night owls who work or go to school early are more likely to experience social jetlag, for instance, meaning they can’t often get the amount or kind of sleep they prefer—a discrepancy that can cause subtle but noticeable long-term harm to a person’s metabolism and overall health. Night owls in general may also be at higher risk for health issues like diabetes.
The researchers say their work demonstrates that the relationship between our brain and sleep is nuanced and complicated. But at the very least, it seems that trying to ensure that we get as much sleep as we need, ideally when we prefer it, is key to keeping our minds sharp.
“While understanding and working with your natural sleep tendencies is essential, it’s equally important to remember to get just enough sleep, not too long or too short,” said West. “This is crucial for keeping your brain healthy and functioning at its best.”
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Ed Cara
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Eli Lilly & Co.’s Alzheimer’s treatment was cleared in the US as the second drug to slow progression of the mind-robbing disease that afflicts 6 million Americans.
It’s a big win for Lilly and its investors, who have been eagerly anticipating the drug since it showed promise in clinical trials more than three years ago. Called Kisunla, the medicine endured a number of regulatory delays on the road to approval. It will compete with Eisai Co.’s Leqembi, which has been available for sale in the US since early 2023.
Shares of Indianapolis-based Lilly closed down 0.8% Tuesday in New York. The stock had surged more than 50% so far this year before today amid rapid growth of weight-loss and diabetes sales. Shares of Eisai partner Biogen Inc. fell 1.3%
The Alzheimer’s drug will cost $32,000 in the first year of treatment, Lilly said. That’s slightly more than the $26,500 annual price for Leqembi for a person of average size. But doctors can stop the treatment if brain plaques — the toxic material that the drug removes — fall to minimal levels, which they did in many people in trials after about a year.
That means that the total out-of-pocket treatment cost of the drug could sometimes be less than other amyloid drugs, Lilly said. In Leqembi’s main approval trial, patients were treated for a full 18 months.
The Eisai and Lilly products are both infusions that remove toxic amyloid from the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. They only modestly slow the disease and are approved only for people with early-stage Alzheimer’s, a minority of the total patient population with the disease. Side effects of both include brain swelling and brain bleeding.
Brain swelling or bleeding occurred in 36% of patients on Lilly’s drug in the company’s main study, and produced symptoms in 6% of them, according to the drug’s label. Regular scans are required to monitor for these effects. Lilly’s drug has a potential convenience advantage since it’s infused every four weeks, compared with every two for Leqembi.
Less frequent dosing and the potential to stop treatment are “a really big deal,” Howard Fillit, co-founder of the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, said in an interview before the approval.
Lilly faced a series of delays bringing Kisunla to the market. In early 2023, the FDA refused to give the drug accelerated approval based on early trial results, telling the company it wanted to wait for a late-stage trial. When Lilly submitted that data, the FDA needed more time to review it. Then earlier this year, the agency decided late in the review process to convene a day-long hearing to review the drug’s safety and efficacy.
A panel of outside advisers to the FDA voted unanimously in favor of the drug on June 10.
“There’s a lot of emotion in the hallways today,” Anne White, president of Lilly Neuroscience, said in an interview before the approval. “We have portraits up on our walls of family members to remind us why we’re doing what we’re doing.”
Once considered integral to Lilly’s future, Alzheimer’s has been overshadowed by the company’s GLP-1 medicines that aid in weight loss, a market expected to reach $130 billion a year by the end of the decade, according to analysts at Goldman Sachs.
Sales of Alzheimer’s drugs are also expected to grow significantly. Bloomberg Intelligence analysts see sales surging to $13 billion by 2030 from about $250 million this year.
“Having multiple treatment options is the kind of advancement we’ve all been waiting for — all of us who have been touched, even blindsided, by this difficult and devastating disease,” said Joanne Pike, CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association, in a statement. The nonprofit has pushed hard for approval and broad insurance coverage for amyloid-lowering drugs.
Leqembi’s rollout by Eisai and partner Biogen Inc. has been slowed by logistical issues, reimbursement uncertainties and complicated safety testing requirements. Medicare, the US health program for the elderly, didn’t routinely cover the treatments until recently, and hospital neurology programs weren’t set up to perform the monitoring required to use the drugs.
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Madison Muller, Robert Langreth, Bloomberg
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A new research indicates that exercise can rewire the brain and help erase traumatic memories.
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The scene is all too common: You get a handful of hours of sleep, reach for a cup of coffee every few hours, and then still feel sluggish. But a new study published in Scientific Reports shows that something rather unexpected can perk up your brain power1 the day following a horrendous night’s sleep.
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Cannabis is widely used to help mitigate the symptoms of a variety of conditions and diseases. Specifically, a number of state medical cannabis programs list HIV/AIDS as a qualifying condition, as cannabis can help to eliminate a variety of symptoms associated with HIV/AIDS treatment.
Though, some clinicians have expressed concern how regular cannabis treatments in this regard may impact patient cognition.
Researchers affiliated with the University of California at San Diego sought to investigate the cognitive impacts of cannabis use in people with HIV through a newly published meta-analysis in the journal Current HIV/AIDS Reports.
Ultimately, they conclude that neither the use of whole-plant cannabis or cannabis-based medicines are associated with significant cognitive changes in those with HIV.
In the study abstract, researchers note the potential benefits that cannabis use can offer patients with HIV while recognizing this population’s “high burden of persisting neurocognitive impairment” and physician concerns with adding cannabis into the mix, specifically its potential cognitive effects.
Cannabis use among those with HIV is far from a new trend. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration first approved synthetic oral THC capsules (dronabinol) to treat HIV-induced cachexia, or loss of appetite, in 1985.
Additionally, surveys have consistently affirmed that cannabis use is common among people with HIV, with one 2007 study predating the bulk of medical reform measures in the U.S. still finding that more than 60% of HIV/AIDS patients self-identified as medical cannabis users.
Another more recent 2022 study noted that 77% and 34% of people with HIV reported lifetime and past-year cannabis use, respectively.
While some of these patients report recreational use as one reason, research over the years has found that cannabis is largely used among people with HIV to stimulate appetite, reduce pain, relax and ease anxiety and help with sleep.
With plenty of existing data to pull from, researchers reviewed data from 34 clinical studies to determine the extent that cannabis impacts cognition among patients with HIV. The results, according to the study, revealed that there is “little evidence” to support that cannabis has a harmful impact on cognition among those with HIV.
“Overall, the number of reported adverse effects were largely outnumbered by beneficial or null findings, providing insufficient support for the detrimental impact of CU [cannabis use] on cognition in PWH [people with HIV],” researchers reported, adding that the results suggest both cannabis and cannabis-based medications can be prescribed to people with HIV “while posing little threat to cognitive function.”
The topic of cannabis use and cognition has seen a recent uptick in popularity, especially given recent conversations surrounding cannabis-induced psychosis (which has largely been linked to pre-existing conditions and vulnerabilities and is not a widespread issue among cannabis consumers, with some advocates arguing that the focus on this topic is a repackaged version of “Reefer Madness” propaganda from decades past).
Of course, it’s important to look at the full picture and recognize how cannabis use and abuse may impact a variety of populations, and myriad studies attempt to look a bit more broadly at the topic.
Recent research shows that cannabis users may actually have a lower chance of cognitive decline overall. Previous studies have also noted links between heavy cannabis use and cognitive performance, though researchers noted that particular products used, methods of consumption and the reasons for use can also impact cognitive effects associated with cannabis use.
Another recent study similarly found that adolescents who occasionally use cannabis do not see cognitive differences compared to those who abstain, once again highlighting a distinction surrounding frequency of use among other variables.
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Keegan Williams
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Hannah Frye is the Assistant Beauty Editor at mindbodygreen. She has a B.S. in journalism and a minor in women’s, gender, and queer studies from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Hannah has written across lifestyle sections including health, wellness, sustainability, personal development, and more.
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As far as foods that aren’t so great for your brain, ultra-processed foods (i.e. cookies, candy, fast food, etc.) earn the top slot. These foods tend to be nutrient-poor, calorically-dense, and high in sugar, salt, and/or fat. Red meats17, foods high in saturated fats18, sugar19, and sodium20 can also harm brain health, Maxwell says, due to their negative impact on the gut microbiome and heart functionality.
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Rumination is the cornerstone of depression and anxiety. It’s characterized by an excessive replaying of negative thoughts and memories. A new study finds rumination activates the same brain regions as savoring, or the replaying of positive thoughts. Can depressed people learn to use their brains’ natural abilities in a more constructive way?
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Steven Handel
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Cognitive decline and even just normal brain changes associated with aging threaten to impact our memories and way of thinking—two things we very much want to hold on to as long as possible. But some people are more resilient to signs of memory loss than others, even when there’s physiologic evidence of memory loss.
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The regions studied included parts of Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming. People living in counties with the highest use of these three pesticides ran a 25-36% greater risk of Parkinson’s than those with the lowest use (broken down, the risk was 36% higher for simazine, 25% for lindane, and 31% for atrazine).
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