7 hours of sleep. This is the ideal length of restful sleep for people over 40. According to researchers who conducted a study on the amount of sleep of 50,000 participants, people who sleep 7 hours a night have preserved mental health. Explanations.
The importance of restful sleep
We spend almost a third of our lives to sleep. Memory and learning, metabolism, immunity… sleep plays a crucial role in a large number of biological functions. However, to date, almost a third of French people are affected by a sleep disorder. Indeed, 16% of the population suffers frominsomnia chronic and other pathologies such as sleep apnea where the restless leg syndrome are added to it.
However, poor sleep has an impact on the overall state of health. Studies have shown that a poor quality of sleep increases the risk of cardiovascular disease,obesity and of diabetes, cancers and everyday accidents. These consequences are driving research to better understand how to improve sleep quality and quantity, throughout life.
7 hours per night, no more no less
In this context, researchers from the University of Cambridge (United Kingdom) and Fudan (China) conducted a large-scale study. Indeed, they surveyed 50,000 people, aged 38 to 73, regarding their sleep habits, mental health and general health. The participants also carried out cognitive and genetic tests and their brain images were analyzed.
The results of the study show that people who sleep 7 hours per night exhibit better cognitive testing skills. Notably, these participants have better information processing speed, visual attention, memory, and problem-solving ability. They also show fewer signs anxiety-depressive than the other participants. The study also shows that sleep durations of less or more than 7 hours are associated with cognitive decline.
The authors point out that a restorative sleep is all the more crucial as we get older. In fact, it makes it possible to maintain the Mental Health. Also, in patients suffering from psychiatric disorders or dementia, good sleep limits the cognitive decline.
Tips for restful sleep
The results of this study show how important it is to find ways to improve sleep in the elderly. A few gestures allow a good sleep and a restful sleep. They act on 3 main axes: the environment in which we sleep, lifestyle and food.
| ENVIRONMENT | LIFE HABITS | FOOD | OTHER TRACKS |
| Quiet environment | bedtime ritual | Light dinner | Physical exercise |
| Lights off | No nap during the day | Avoid caffeine | Lecture |
| Optimal temperature | Bath / shower / WC | Avoid alcohol | Relaxing music |
| Comfortable mattress | Position confortable | Meditation | |
| No cell phone | aromatherapy | ||
| No e-books | Melatonin |
Alexia F., Doctor in Neurosciences
Sources
– Sleep, Shedding light on our nocturnal activity. inserm.fr. Accessed May 5, 2022.
