Seven Hours of Sleep Is Ideal for Most Adults, Study Finds
The new study, published in Nature Aging, shows that among people ages 38 to 73, getting seven hours of sleep each night provides the most benefit for cognitive and mental health. It's best for those sleeping patterns to remain consistent, too—meaning getting seven hours of sleep once in a while won't cut it for brain health.
How Sleep Impacts Brain Health
According to researchers, a lack of sleep—and in turn, worsening cognitive performance—may be a risk factor for cognitive decline during aging. This may be due to insufficient or interrupted "slow-wave" sleep (aka, deep sleep). Too little of this type of sleep has been shown to lead to a buildup of beta-amyloid proteins, called amyloid plaques, which are seen in some forms of dementia.
Basically, your brain needs ample time to rest overnight in order to clean up and recharge. "The brain reorganizes and recharges itself during sleep," study co-author Jianfeng Feng, PhD, a professor at Fudan University in China, told Health. "As well as removing toxic waste byproducts and boosting our immune system, sleep is also key for memory consolidation, during which new memory segments based on our experiences are transferred into long-term memory."
Sleeping too much can have a negative impact on our cognitive function, too. As with too little sleep, an excessive amount of sleep was also shown to cause structural changes in the areas of the brain associated with cognitive processing and memory.
Tips to Improve Sleep Habits
If your sleep habits are less than optimal, there are ways to modify your lifestyle so that you can begin to get the best amount of sleep. According to Margarita Oks, MD, a critical care pulmonologist and sleep expert at Lenox Hill Hospital, the following suggestions may help to improve your overall sleep health:
· Go to bed when you generally start feeling tired
· Maintain a consistent bedtime and wake-up time
· Refrain from reading, watching TV, or using electronics in bed
· Do not spend more than 30 minutes in bed awake
If you are not feeling tired, leave the bedroom and go to another part of the home until you do feel tired
Because some sleep issues are due to underlying health problems, it's also important to make sure your sleep disturbances aren't linked to another condition. According to Dr. Oks, if you're having an extremely difficult time getting enough sleep, or if you find yourself consistently sleeping much longer than seven hours per night, it's best to consult with a health care provider or sleep medicine physician to exclude sleep-related or other disorders.
Sleeping a Lot—And What It Could Mean
Sleeping a lot isn't necessarily a bad thing. Sleep is important. Not getting enough sleep puts you at risk for health problems, from heart disease to obesity to diabetes. However, sleeping a lot all of a sudden when you didn't before might be a reason to look closely at what is going on with your health.
Experts recommend that adults get seven to nine hours of sleep each night. About one-third of adults (32.8%) get fewer than seven hours of sleep a night.
What Does Oversleeping Mean?
Medically speaking, oversleeping is sleeping for more than nine hours within a 24-hour timespan. Other than long sleep duration, oversleeping is usually characterized by the need to nap throughout the day, feeling extremely sleepy during the day, and headaches.
You may sleep too much within one or more 24-hour periods to make up for any of the sleep you lost because of a hectic day, week, or month.
While sleep deprivation may lead to health problems, too much sleep is more likely to indicate something is already wrong.
"The association does not mean causality," added Robert W. Greene, MD, a professor in the departments of psychiatry and neuroscience at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. "The fact that you're sleeping too much is probably not causing any problems per se but could indicate that something else bad is going on."
In medical terms, oversleeping means sleeping more than nine hours in 24 hours. It's associated with a higher risk of several conditions, including heart disease, stroke, and heart failure.
That doesn't mean it causes those conditions. Instead, oversleeping may be a symptom of other underlying conditions. If you find yourself sleeping too much too often, especially compared to how you usually sleep, check with a healthcare provider to rule out other medical conditions.
Until Next time: Stay Safe, Stay Healthy and be Careful out in the World.
James A Vito, D.M.D.