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Article: Mind Tired and tested Eight hours' sleep is what the doctor orders, but research suggests as little as four could be healthier. Peta Bee burns the candle at both ends
- Article from:
- The Independent on Sunday (London, England)
- Article date:
- March 28, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2004 The Independent on Sunday. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Eight hours, we all know, is the benchmark for sleep. We also all
know that many of us (an estimated one in four) fall short of that
target, and, it is assumed, suffer in terms of health as well as
temper. But research now suggests that this view is incorrect - that
it is not only OK to get less sleep, but desirable.
Three new studies indicate that rather than leaving us grumpy,
disorientated and stressed, sleeping for significantly less than
eight hours might even extend our lives. Reporting in the medical
journal Sleep, Japanese researchers who looked at the lifestyle
habits of more than 104,000 adults over 10 years found that those
getting an average of seven hours' sleep had the lowest ...