In my newsfeed this week there were two articles that kept appearing, Are you getting too much sleep? and What Sleeping Less Than 6 Hours A Night Does To Your Brain.
From the ‘too much’ piece: “A new study from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine, Missouri, which monitored 100 adults in their mid to late seventies over several years, apparently found an association between less than five and a half hours’ sleep or, rather astonishingly, more than seven and a half hours and declining cognitive performance. The “sweet spot”, where cognitive function remained stable, was in “the middle range” (ie 5.5-7.5 hours) of total sleep time.”
From the ‘6 hours or less isn’t enough’ piece: “The researchers found that those who are sleep-deprived had more than a twofold greater risk of colds and flu. In those people who are vaccinated, we see an increased development of antibodies to combat the viral pathogen, and that’s accelerated when you couple vaccine appointments with healthy sleep duration.”
So more than seven and a half hours is too many and less than six is too few. Got it.
There’s even more sleep news today!
Unsteady on your feet? Why sleep deprivation is ruining your walk
7 Secrets of a Super Sleeper, Revealed
People who sleep naked twice as likely to have a good night’s rest!
Five of the best podcasts: sleep-inducing sounds and stories
