Sleeping well is more important for our health than we often think. Recent research shows that sufficient sleep is just as essential as eating healthily and getting enough exercise. On average, adults need seven to eight hours of sleep per night to allow the body and mind to recover properly.
During sleep, important processes take place. For example, the body gets the chance to recover and the brain clears away harmful substances. This ‘night-time cleanup’ helps to lower the risk of diseases such as Alzheimer's, heart problems and diabetes. A regular sleep schedule, where you go to bed at roughly the same time every day, supports these processes even better.
Sleeping too little or indeed too much turns out to be unhealthy. People who structurally sleep less than six hours or more than nine hours more frequently have health problems and often die sooner. Besides the amount of sleep, the quality is also important. Poor or restless sleep can disrupt the recovery process and causes a greater risk of diseases of ageing.
Good sleep not only contributes to a longer lifespan, but also ensures better alertness and a more robust health at a later age. Sleep is therefore a simple, but often underestimated factor in ageing healthily.
Source: Buck Institute
