A new study has just revealed the ideal sleep duration for a healthy brain.
Sleep is very important for health. Moreover, a new Fino-British study, the results of which have just been published in the journal Nature Aging just revealed ideal sleep time to have the most healthy brain possible.
What is the ideal sleep duration for a fit brain?
To arrive at determining the sleep time necessary for a healthy brain, Christelle Langley, of the Department of Psychiatry at Cambridge University (UK) and researchers from Fudan University (China) came to analyze data from the UK Biobank of nearly 500,000 people aged 38 to 73. The latter had been questioned regarding their sleep habits, mental health and well-being. On top of that, 40,000 people provided brain imaging data and genetic data.
The results thus show that following the age of 40, the optimal duration of sleep is 7 hours. We also learn that shorter sleep time was directly associated with impaired cognitive performance, such as information processing speed, memory, problem solving ability and visual attention. In case of longer sleep time, the researchers reveal that it was associated with more frequent symptoms of anxiety and depression, but also decreased well-being.
Of course, this optimal period of 7 hours of sleep implies sleeping in good conditions. Episodes of awakening during the night can for example impact optimal efficiency on the brain. The researchers further add that the results show the importance of having a regular sleep pattern.
The researchers then conclude: “7 hours of sleep per night is the optimal amount to maintain good cognitive performance. Finding ways to improve sleep in the elderly might therefore be crucial in helping them maintain good mental health and avoid cognitive decline, especially for patients with psychiatric disorders and dementias.” According to them, the association between insufficient sleep and cognitive decline is caused by the disturbance of deep sleep.