Sleeping six hours or less would be associated with poor memory, while sleeping nine hours or more would make decision making more difficult. Those are the two main conclusions of a study published late last year in the academic journal Jama Neurology.
The researchers evaluated more than 4,000 people, ages 65 to 85, identified as clinically normal (according to the Clinical Classification of Dementia score) and cognitively unimpaired (according to the Mini-Mental State Examination and the Delayed Logical Memory). The participants were analyzed according to their sleep habits, using brain imaging and cognitive tests.
The study, although it is purely observational, confirms hypotheses and reinforces previous research. The results suggest that too short a night’s sleep (six hours or less) is associated with learning problems (particularly in relation to memory) and an increase in beta-amyloid protein, which can form brain plaque (a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease). On the contrary, a sleep that is too long (nine hours or more) would complicate decision-making in everyday life, making it more difficult for him to discern.
How is it explained? It is known that among the functions of sleep is the reorganization of the nervous system, the collection of cell debris and neurotransmitters to keep the process that helps to specify and fix memory at a good point, explains doctor Luis Guillermo Duque Ramírez, PhD in Neurosciences, specialist in Sleep Medicine and professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Antioquia.
So seven or eight?
The greatest consensus that exists regarding how many hours to sleep is that there is no “magic” number, this in view of the fact that the need to recover for a long or short time is determined from a genetic point of view, that is, by how it is encoded your DNA.
“There are short sleepers and long sleepers,” complements Dr. Duque, which means that there are those who with five hours of sleep feel that they slept enough, while there are others who lack ten hours. “There is no exact number of hours, however, the recommendation is that humans should sleep between six and eight hours per night, which allows three to five complete sleep cycles to be achieved, which is the requirement of the species. ”.
For some time it was believed that sleep was a moment of total inactivity, however, it is now known that it is a process almost as active and vital as drinking water or eating, adds doctor Daniel Castro, Master in Applied Neuroscience and medical advisor to Spring mattresses. “Each person is a different world, but we can limit the range of hours a little more according to age.”
Thus, he continues, for an adult between 26 and 64 years of age, 7 to 9 hours of sleep are usually appropriate; for adults over 65, it is 7 to 8 hours; while young children may need much more, 9 to 10 hours
.
recognize yours
Knowing whether or not you are sleeping the time you need is simple. The criterion is framed in whether it feels functional during the day or not. If you are able to do your activities, do not have problems with attention, irritability, or headaches, your rest is appropriate.
On the other hand, says Duque, if you sleep less time than you need, your chronic diseases (if you have them) might be out of control (hypertension, diabetes, increased cholesterol), likewise “you would be prone to accidents, poor interpersonal relationships and more predisposed to to fall ill”.
Identifying if you’re oversleeping can be a bit more complex. Paradoxically, that person who is exceeding rest time may feel more sleepy and more agile, that is, less willing to perform tasks during the day.
“Sleeping a little more can have very diverse causes, from the search for compensation for an exhausting week, to inconveniences in the regulation of hormones or mental health problems,” Castro points out and recommends that if you feel that you have significant difficulties to stay asleep, staying asleep or getting up, it is best to go to your trusted doctor or to the website of the Colombian Association of Sleep Medicine and contact one of the medical specialists.
Finally, remember that getting a good night’s sleep (during the right time to complete your cycles) isn’t just regarding maintaining your neurological health. The Jama Neurology study also found a relationship between excessive and insufficient sleep with increased body mass index (associated with fat), prevalence of depressive symptoms and greater need for naps, compared to people who slept seven or eight hours.
“Those are consequences that come over time. There is also an increase in the signs of aging, a greater probability of contracting infections, a greater risk of obesity and metabolic syndrome (which considerably increases cardiovascular risk),” concludes Dr. Castro.