WESTON, Fla. – A word to the weary: if you’re getting six or less hours of shut eye a night, a new study finds you could be putting your brain health at risk.
“Sleep affects so many aspects of our lives, our brain function cardiovascular system and so many other things. In this recent study where they looked at about 8,000 patients and they followed them over 25 years or so what they found was patients who got less sleep, especially less than 6 hours in their 50s and 60s had a much greater risk of developing dementia almost 20%,” said Dr. Samuel Gurevich, a pulmonologist and sleep specialist with the Cleveland Clinic Weston.
Gurevich said sleep is vital for refreshing and consolidating memory and not getting enough can actually affect how different proteins are settled in the brain.
Although some people are naturally “short sleepers” the study findings focused on those who borrow from sleep for other activities and were not getting enough to support their overall health.
And with almost a quarter of all Americans now vaccinated against COVID-19 many are wondering about returning to normal activities.
Health experts say for those who are at least 2 weeks out of their second vaccine dose gathering in small groups and traveling by plane are considered fairly safe.
For indoor gatherings where people cannot keep a safe distance from each other, some experts advise waiting until overall immunity levels reach 75 percent or higher.