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Ask the doctor
Q. How much sleep do we really need, and what happens if we get too little or too much?
A. We spend about a third of our lives sleeping, so you asked an important question.
The National Sleep Foundation recommends seven to eight hours of sleep for people over 64 and seven to nine hours for people aged 18 to 64. Children need more sleep.
Studies have asked a large number of people how many hours of sleep they had on average and followed their health for decades. Nearly 50% of us sleep less than these recommendations. This is disturbing because an average person has worse health outcomes (including more obesity, diabetes and heart disease, and a shorter life) if she sleeps less or more than those beaches, on average.
The important word is average. Some people who sleep on average more or less than these hours stay in excellent health. Maybe they have different genes. Unfortunately, we currently have no way of knowing if you could be one of those lucky people. So, as often in life, it's wise to play the odds and follow the general tips. Also, do not worry if every night you sleep more or less than is advised. The board applies to the average amount of sleep you get.
A word of caution: You can not draw strong conclusions about the cause and effect of such observational studies. For example, you can not conclude that adults who spend an average of six hours a night necessarily improve their health by sleeping eight hours a night. To reach firm conclusions, you must organize a study in which thousands of adults have been affected, randomly: some have an average of less than seven hours of sleep per night; some average seven to nine hours a night; and some to average more than nine hours a night. Plus, you would need a way to determine that they were actually sleeping as long as they were reporting. Finally, you will have to follow the health of these thousands of people for 30 years or more. You can imagine how difficult it would be in the real world to conduct such a study.
Why do we need so much sleep? In recent years, we have learned that during sleep, waste is removed from our brain. For example, waste includes proteins involved in Alzheimer's disease. A recent study in mice revealed that the interruption of sleep repeatedly led to worsening of atherosclerosis. It's much less clear why people who sleep more that recommended also have worse results for health.
I am general advice. I think it protects my health and I know it makes me feel better.
– by Anthony L. Komaroff, M.D.
Editor-in-Chief, Harvard Health Letter
Image: © Artem Peretiatko / Getty Images
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