Health Expert Reveals Ideal Amount of Sleep For Middle-aged Person

Health Expert Reveals Ideal Amount of Sleep For Middle-aged Person

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Health experts have said the ideal duration of sleep for middle-aged persons is seven hours.

Researchers at Cambridge University, United Kingdom gave this recommendation.

They revealed that this amount of sleep was important for the overall wellness of persons within this age bracket.

The scientists added that healthy sleep could prevent dementia.

According to the researchers, the sleep pattern of half a million Britons between the age of 38 to 73 was monitored for 10 years.

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The study found in a Science journal entitled Nature Aging found the following benefits of seven hours of sleep per night:

• The optimal amount of cognitive performance.
• Optimal strength of mental health.
• Boost a healthy brain by removing waste products.

The researchers led by Yuzhu Li and Barbara Sahakian revealed that lack of sleep or sleeping for longer hours may affect:

• The brain’s ability to detoxify.
• A prolonged state of anxiety and depression.

Sahakian, a professor from the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge stressed that getting a good night’s sleep is not only important at any age but particularly important as people age.

“Finding ways to improve sleep for older people could be crucial to helping them maintain good mental health and wellbeing and avoiding cognitive decline, particularly for patients with psychiatric disorders and dementia,” She explained.

The results of the study concluded that:

• Insufficient or excessive sleeping habits caused impaired cognitive performance. This includes; 1. Processing speed performance. 2. Visual attention. 3. Memory boost. 4. Problem-solving skills.

While those who slept for seven hours daily had the healthiest brains.

According to Daily Mail UK, 

“They had the best cognitive performance and mental health — with lower levels of anxiety and depression and better well-being — compared to those getting more or less than seven hours sleep.” 

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Professor Jianfeng Feng, a brain expert at Fudan University in China also said:

 “While we can’t say conclusively that too little or too much sleep causes cognitive problems, our analysis looking at individuals over a longer period appears to support this idea.”

Feng who is another co-author of the study explained the poor sleep pattern in older people.

Feng explained: “But the reasons why older people have poorer sleep appear to be complex, influenced by a combination of our genetic makeup and the structure of our brains.”
Source: PUNCH Health Wise