Written By: Longjam Dineshwori | Updated : April 29, 2022 7:11 PM IST
According to studies, getting too little sleep raises your chance of weight gain. This is because your body produces and controls several hormones as you sleep.
Getting enough sleep is important for proper cognitive function and maintaining good psychological health. But as we get older, we often find difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. Both insufficient and excessive sleep are associated with a number of health conditions, including cognitive decline and psychiatric disorders in the aging population. Now, you may want to know what the ideal amount of sleep for people in their middle age or older would be.
Seven hours of sleep per night is optimal for people in their middle age and upwards, according to researchers from the University of Cambridge and Fudan University.
Too little or too much sleep may affect cognitive performance and mental health, they noted in a study published on April 28 in Nature Aging.
The scientists examined data from nearly 500,000 adults aged 38-73 years from the UK Biobank, including their sleeping patterns, mental health and wellbeing. The results showed that both insufficient and excessive sleep duration were associated with impaired cognitive performance, such as processing speed, visual attention, memory and problem-solving skills.
The participants also reported experiencing more symptoms of anxiety and depression and worse overall wellbeing when they sleep for longer or shorter durations.
Not only seven hours of sleep per night was the ideal amount of sleep for cognitive performance, but also for good mental health, the researchers stated.
According to the researchers, disruption of slow-wave -- 'deep' sleep may be one possible reason for the association between insufficient sleep and cognitive decline.
Disruption to this type of sleep may lead to memory consolidation and the build-up of amyloid in the brain, which is considered as being characteristic of some forms of dementia. Sleep helps keep the brain healthy by removing waste products. Insufficient sleep may hamper this ability, the researchers noted.
The research team also found a link between the amount of sleep and differences in the structure of brain regions involved in cognitive processing and memory. Here too, greater changes were associated with greater than or less than seven hours of sleep.
Based on these findings, the researchers concluded that insufficient or excessive sleep duration may increase risk for cognitive decline in ageing.
"Getting a good night's sleep is important at all stages of life, but particularly as we age," said Professor Barbara Sahakian from the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge, as quoted by Science Daily.
She suggested that finding ways to improve sleep could help older people maintain good mental health and wellbeing as well as to avoid cognitive decline, particularly for patients with psychiatric disorders and dementias.
