Don't sleep like this anymore! Your brain is more likely to have problems and your body will age prematurely...

In real life, many people have two criteria for judging "good sleep": one is sleeping for 8 hours, and the other is good sleep quality.

However, as sleep science research deepens, more and more evidence shows that sleeping for 8 hours is not the gold standard for optimal sleep. Studies have found that people who sleep this way are more likely to have brain problems and have a higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease!

People who sleep like this

The brain is more likely to have problems!

In December 2023, researchers at Harvard University published a study in Neurology showing that people with irregular sleep have a higher risk of dementia, with a 53% higher risk of Alzheimer's disease. In other words, if you went to bed at 10 o'clock yesterday, 11 o'clock today, and stay up until 2 o'clock tomorrow, your risk of dementia will increase.

The study included 88,000 participants aged 40 to 69, with an average age of 62, of whom 56% were women. By having them wear monitoring devices, their sleep data, such as sleep time and wake-up time, were collected. At the same time, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to assess their levels of brain health markers.

The study found that there is a link between irregular sleep and dementia risk, especially those with the most irregular sleep have the highest risk of dementia. During the 7.2 years of follow-up, a total of 480 people developed Alzheimer's disease.
In life, many people are concerned about "sleeping for 8 hours" and "sleeping well", but in fact, they should be more concerned about "sleep regularity". Researchers said that sleep regularity is an important part of healthy sleep that we should pay attention to. People with irregular sleep should develop regular bedtimes and wake-up times to reduce the risk of dementia .

Irregular sleep can make your body more susceptible to premature aging

In August 2023, a study published in the journal Sleep Health showed that maintaining stable sleep habits can help slow down the biological aging process of the body. Compared with people with stable sleep habits, people with larger deviations in bedtime and large differences in sleep on weekdays and weekends are 9 months older in biological age.

In other words, a person who has irregular sleep patterns every day will age 9 months earlier than a person who has regular sleep patterns!

Therefore, it is recommended to maintain a stable sleeping habit and keep similar bedtime and waking time every day, which will help slow down the biological aging process.

Regular work and rest is the best way to maintain health

People often ask, "Can eating XXX prevent cancer?" "Can eating XXX help maintain health?" In fact, a regular life and a regular work and rest schedule are the best ways to maintain health. Previously, a doctor shared in a Health Times article, "When I was a clinical doctor, I found that a large part of my patients' diseases were caused by irregular life and work schedules. People who eat irregularly are prone to stomach problems and obesity; people who sleep irregularly often have some minor physical problems. Behind many diseases, it is the disruption of the 'regular work and rest schedule'."

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Lu Lin, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and president of Peking University Sixth Hospital, once pointed out in a public speech that "irregular work and rest schedules can lead to problems such as difficulty falling asleep, frequent waking up, and early waking up, which can reduce sleep quality. There is no clear rule for the best time to fall asleep and wake up, but it should follow nature's circadian rhythm."
Many people always think that "staying up late is harmful" and "not sleeping enough for 8 hours is harmful", but irregular sleep may be just as harmful.

A study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC) in 2020 showed that compared with people with regular sleep, people who had an average sleep difference of more than 90 minutes per night for more than 7 days had more than a 2-fold increased risk of cardiovascular disease over a 5-year period.

Therefore, instead of trying every possible way to spend money on various supplements, skin care products, and cosmetics, it is better to go to bed and get up on time. A regular schedule is the best way to maintain health.

Sleep regularly and don’t do these 7 things before going to bed!

1

Avoid strenuous exercise before bedtime

Many people are used to running or exercising at night. In fact, exercising at night may make your brain overexcited and affect regular sleep.

"Exercising during the day will increase the body's fatigue, which will also promote sleep and make it relatively easy to sleep at night." Yin Guoping, deputy chief physician of the Sleep Medicine Center of the Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery at Beijing Tsinghua Chang Gung Hospital affiliated to Tsinghua University, reminded in an interview in 2020 that exercise should be done during the day. You can choose to increase the amount of exercise and activity in the morning or afternoon every day to consume the body's remaining energy to achieve the purpose of fitness and thus improve sleep. Exercising a lot at night will make the brain overexcited, such as secreting related hormones, so being too excited will affect falling asleep.

2

Don't eat too much before bed

Chen Chen, chief physician of the Department of Neurology at Shanxi Cardiovascular Hospital, once published an article saying that many people like to eat midnight snacks or have dinner too late, which actually affects our sleep. Eating too much before bedtime will cause blood sugar to rise, which will make people more excited and make it difficult for us to fall asleep. If you are really hungry before bedtime, do not eat high-sugar or high-carb foods, but drink a glass of hot milk.

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3

Try not to play with your phone while sleeping

It is a daily routine for many people to play with their phones and watch short videos before sleep. But often when they come to their senses, they have been lying in bed for 1-2 hours. Playing with your phone before going to bed will not only make you go to bed late, but it may also make you unable to fall asleep after putting down your phone, leading to difficulty falling asleep. Dr. Chen Chen introduced that a friend of mine improved his sleep by doing this. He put his phone in the living room at 9 o'clock and turned it to silent mode. He never looked at his phone or dealt with things. After a period of conditioning, not only did his sleep improve, but his anxiety and depression also improved significantly.

4

Don't talk too much before bed

Some people like to chat with others or talk on the phone before going to bed. In fact, this will also greatly affect sleep, because talking too much can easily excite the brain and make the mind active, making it difficult for people to fall asleep. Moreover, after chatting, some people will continue to think about the content of the chat, which makes it even harder to fall asleep.

5

Don’t overwork your brain before bed

Many times, some people are in the habit of finishing the unfinished work of the day at night, especially the more brain-intensive work.
In fact, don't overuse your brain before going to bed, as it will put your brain in an excited state. Even though you have lay down, you still won't be able to fall asleep.

6

Don't get emotional before bed

Some people have had the experience of quarreling with family or friends before going to bed, but they often can't fall asleep that night and have a particularly poor sleep quality. This is because people's joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness can easily cause excitement or disorder of the nerve center, making it difficult to fall asleep. Therefore, don't be too happy or angry, worry or get angry before going to bed, and try to keep your emotions stable.

7

Don't drink strong tea or coffee before going to bed

Many people know that strong tea, coffee and other caffeinated beverages can cause insomnia. In addition, some tea drinks such as milk tea should not be consumed 3 to 4 hours before bedtime, as they can also cause hyperactivity before bedtime and irregular sleep.

References

[1]Stephanie R. Yiallourou et al, Association of the Sleep Regularity Index With Incident Dementia and Brain Volume, Neurology (2023). DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000208029, doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000208029

[2]Day-to-day deviations in sleep parameters and biological aging: Findings from the NHANES 2011-2014. Sleep Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleh.2023.07.018

[3] 2019-09-02 Health Times: “Poor sleep makes you more likely to gain weight? Academician Lu Lin: These diseases are all related to insomnia”

[4]Tianyi Huang, Sara Mariani, Susan Redline. Sleep Irregularity and Risk of Cardiovascular Events. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2020 Mar, 75 (9) 991-999.

[5] 2020-12-20 Science and Technology Daily “Daily Rumors Debunked | These Internet Celebrity Sleeping Tips Won’t Help You Sleep Better”

[6] 2022-12-05 People's Daily Health Client "Chen Chen, Brain Doctor" "6 sleep-aiding methods that insomniacs must know!"

Planning and production

Source: Health Times

Reviewer: Tang Qin, Director and Researcher of the Science Popularization Department of the Chinese Medical Association

Editor: Yinuo