Why you want plenty of sleep!

Sleep scientists used to be mild-mannered folks.

They usually stayed in the background, busy measuring brain-waves and lecturing at the university. They wrote scholarly articles to be read mainly by fellow-scientists -- and the occasional medical student like me, years ago.

But recently, that’s changed.

Modern sleep scientists now speak out publicly, sounding the alarm. They say our society suffers from chronic sleep deprivation. We risk serious health problems in the years ahead.

The sleep scientists are warning us because the research is just so convincing. There’s no doubt. For good health, people must have good sleep.

Here’s an outstanding study published just recently, in 2021. It’s remarkable because the science is so strong — based on well-designed research involving thousands of participants. And it speaks directly to the concerns of Women 50+.

In the study, researchers tracked the sleep and health of 7959 British civil servants for 25 years.

The cognitive health of people who routinely slept nightly for 6 hours or less at age 50, 60 and 70 was compared to people who routinely slept a ‘normal’ (7hr) sleep duration.

Researchers discovered that people who had a history of short sleep (6hrs or less) had a 30% increased risk of developing dementia compared to those who slept 7 hours.

They summarized their results:  "These findings suggest that short sleep duration in midlife is associated with an increased risk of late-onset dementia.”

CONCLUSION: Such research is now inspiring sleep scientists to speak directly to the public. They want us to respect our need for sleep - to give our sleep priority!