Research involving 172,321 adults showed that adequate sleep means you live longer: for men (+5 years) for women (+2 years).
1/3rd of adults cut sleep short, raising their risk of heart attack, dementia and diabetes.
“Sleep is restorative. During sleep, your brain and body perform many critical tasks important for overall health. Your immune system repairs sore muscles and injured tissues. The spaces between brain cells widen, allowing fluid to flush away toxins.
When you don’t sleep enough, you cut short healing and restorative processes, and:
• Belly fat accumulates
• Blood pressure rises
• Blood sugar goes up
• Brain function declines
Most people need at least seven hours to wake refreshed. Some need more.
• Do you wake naturally, without the help of an alarm clock?
• Do you feel rested and restored during the day?
• Create a bedtime routine. Keep your room dark, exercise regularly.
Moderate aerobic exercise like walking improves sleep quality, especially the slow-wave sleep that’s key to tissue repair.
• Pay attention to your medications.
Forty percent of older people are on five or more medications, some of those medications disrupt sleep. Talk with your doctor.
• Get a checkup.
• Stick to a sleep routine and schedule
• Don’t drink.
Alcohol can worsen sleep quality. Source: Virend Somers, M.D., Ph.D., cardiologist at Mayo Clinic
