Sleep difficulties may be linked to faster rates of decline in brain volume, according to a recent study.

European researchers found that poor sleep quality older adults who had poor sleep quality saw faster deterioration in three parts of their brain. These sleep difficulties included "having trouble falling asleep, waking up during the night or waking up too early," HealthDay reported.

"This is a really important finding because we are trying to find out what the purpose of sleep is, and why it is important that we get sleep," Claire Sexton, lead author of the study and Oxford researcher told CTV News. "We found sleep problems were related to rate decline in some areas of the brain."

For the study, Sexton and her colleagues looked at 147 adults between the ages of 20 and 84. They examined the link between sleep problems and brain volume with two MRI scans, CNN reported.

The first scan was taken before study participants completed a questionnaire pertaining to their sleep habits, and the second scan was done nearly four years later.

Based on the findings, sleep difficulties were linked with a more rapid decline in brain volume over the course of the study in widespread brain regions, including within frontal, temporal and parietal areas.

The results were more pronounced in people 60 years and older.

"It is not yet known whether poor sleep quality is a cause or consequence of changes in brain structure," Sexton said. "There are effective treatments for sleep problems, so future research needs to test whether improving people's quality of sleep could slow the rate of brain volume loss. If that is the case, improving people's sleep habits could be an important way to improve brain health."

To improve sleep, Sexton recommended having a bedtime routine and going to bed at the same time each night.

The findings were recently published in the journal Neurology.