We spend an average of 3,000 hours a year in dreamland, or a third of our lives between duvet cover and pillow. And for good reason, sleep is linked to a whole series of cognitive and physiological processes in the body, and not having enough of it can have harmful consequences on health.
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As we age, our sleep patterns can also change, and it becomes important to know how much sleep is optimal for healthy functioning. In a study published in the journal Nature Aging, scientists from Cambridge University in England and Fudan in China may have found an answer. Looking at data from the UK BioBank, the researchers studied 498,277 participants aged 38 to 73 who completed surveys about their sleep habits and duration, mental health and general well-being. Of this group, 40,000 participants had brain imaging profiles and additional genetic data available for analysis.
The results of thestudy suggest that participants who sleep around 7 hours a day without major disruption to their daily sleep pattern for prolonged periods have better cognitive performance, better mental health, and better overall long-term well-being. Sleeping less or more seems to be associated with impaired memory, but also logical abilities. Scientists involved in the study also found in some participants a link between the amount of sleep and changes in the volume of key brain regions working in memory, such as the hippocampus and other areas responsible for cognitive processing.
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“Although we cannot say conclusively that too much or too little sleep causes cognitive problems, our analysis of individuals over a longer period of time seems to support this idea. But the reasons why older people sleep less appear to be complex, influenced by a combination of our genetic makeup and brain structure,” Professor Jianfeng Feng of Fudan University said in a statement.
The authors offer a possible explanation for why insufficient sleep as you age could lead to cognitive decline. They say it could be due to a disturbance of slow-wave sleep, which has been linked to dementia and memory difficulties in previous studies. While the current study doesn’t specify why too much sleep might be a bad thing, previous research has shown that too much sleep can also lead to cognitive decline.
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Sleep 7 hours a night to stay healthy
This being said, due to the large sample size (498,277 analyzed cases) used for the study, and the results can therefore be considered robust. However, the authors point out some limitations. The surveys were self-reported, which may introduce some bias, and the study only asked about participants’ total sleep time and did not examine other aspects such as bed hygiene practices. sleep. This is therefore a first step, but future studies could certainly deepen these results. For now, we can say that as we get older, getting seven hours of sleep every night seems to be the best way to maintain good health.
“Getting a good night’s sleep is essential at all stages of life, but especially as you age. Finding ways to improve the sleep of the elderly could be crucial to help them maintain good mental health, overall well-being and avoid decline, especially for patients suffering from psychiatric disorders and dementias “said the professor. Barbara Sahakian, from the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge.
Interesting, isn’t it?