According to a study published above Nature Communications scientific journal on Tuesday.
European researchers analyzed survey data from nearly 8,000 UK adults over 25 years, starting when the subjects were in their 50s. It links this data to diagnoses. dementia and found that people who regularly report getting six hours or less of sleep each night of the week are more likely to be diagnosed with dementia nearly three decades later. When broken down by decade, 50-year-olds who sleep 6 hours or less have a 22% higher risk of dementia, and 60-year-olds have a 37% higher risk of being diagnosed. There is no general difference between men and women.
And this higher risk does not depend on risks related to socioeconomic status, risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attack or stroke, or behavioral factors and mental health, study authors write. Indeed, previous research has shown that obesity, high blood pressure and depression may also increase the risk of sleep problems and dementia.
Related: These are the 3 biggest sleep myths
Some of the limitations to this study include the fact that the subjects self-reported how much they slept. Furthermore, most of the participants were white and better educated than the total UK population, The New York Times noted. Research is also unable to accurately identify types of dementia, as it relies on electronic medical records to diagnose dementia.
But the large size of the study population, as well as the fact that researchers have followed the subjects for decades, make a compelling argument about the link between better sleep and perceived health. stay up better.
This is important to keep in mind as more than a third of American adults suffer from sleep deprivation, According to the CDC, which means they sleep less than the recommended seven hours per night. And the pandemic over the past year and the counting are certainly not helping, as stress over the COVID-19 amount is affecting physical and financial health that has prompted Google searches for “insomnia. “Hit an all-time high.
And these are the more important reasons to seek out a good night’s sleep.
Better sleep can lead to better sex – especially for middle-aged women.
According to a new study published in the new research journal, women with poor sleep have an increased risk of sexual dysfunction, such as less interest or less pleasure in sex. Menopause: Journal of the North American Menopause Association on Wednesday.
As many as 43% of middle-aged women reported sexual problems and more than a quarter (26%) reported “significant” sleep symptoms that met the insomnia criteria, reports note. So researchers evaluated the relationship between sleep quality and length and sexual function in more than 3,400 women with an average age of 53 years. And good quality sleep is associated with active sexual activity.
Quality of sleep was more important than the amount of sleep in that study, but other research linked more sleep with more satisfying sex. A 2015 study in Journal of Sexual Medicine found that women who only slept an extra hour were 14% more likely to participate in sexual activity. Better Sleep Council This suggests this is because good sleep improves energy, self-esteem and overall mood, which may make you more interested in sex.
For boys, since most of the release of testosterone occurs during sleep, research shows that men also benefit in the bedroom by spending more time in bed. Researchers from University of Chicago found that men who lacked a week of sleep, sleeping less than 5 hours per night saw a 15% drop in testosterone levels the next day – much higher than a 1% to 2% drop in men. gender. often experienced due to aging each year.
Better sleep can make you a better investor.
A few years ago, two finance professors Curiosity about the impact of sleep on financial risk examined 126 senior students in economics and finance, who are familiar with the concepts of risk and reward. They monitor students’ sleep patterns and have them take a number of tests to gauge their attitudes to risk. And people with sleep deprivation or other sleep disruptions are at a higher risk than those who sleep more.
And Mark Hulbert of MarketWatch recorded at that time that an earlier report was named “Insomnia at the market: Anomaly of daylight saving”Realized that stock market returns were on average significantly lower than normal levels, on Mondays following a change in daylight saving time. And this could be due to the interrupted sleep when we adjust the clock, especially when we turn forward and it takes an hour when we turn the clock forward in March.
“We all struggled through the day after a bad night’s sleep, weighed down by fatigue, resisted lethargy and could even cope with depression,” the authors write.
If you’re looking for tips to improve your sleep, These 4 sleep experts have shared their own personal routines to catch Z.
And MarketWatch does list some tips from the National Sleep Foundation to improve your sleep hygiene hereFor example, how to create a relaxing bedtime ritual or what to do if you toss over and can’t fall asleep.