Few things in life are as fine a balance as sleep, and it's tough to get it just right. Too little sleep has been linked to all kinds of chronic problems, from unflattering eye bags to obesity, diabetes and premature death. And now it turns out that either too little or too much sleep can unduly age your brain, and even speed up the onset of dementia.
A recent study, as reported by Boston.com (Too much or too little sleep linked to faster brain aging) has found that people who routinely get less than seven hours or more than nine hours a night of sleep have accelerated aging in the brain, and their cognitive function matches that of someone up to seven years their senior. These under and over-sleepers faced a faster decline in memory, reasoning skills and vocabulary. Researchers aren't yet sure why too little or too much sleep can lead to unusual cognitive decline, but point out that the body and brain are engaged in significant restorative work during sleep. Yet again, the ideal amount of sleep was set at seven or eight hours a night.
How to keep your brain young: The sleep factor
