Are You Sleeping Your Life Away?
By Michael Roizen, M.D., and Mehmet Oz, M.D. Getting a good night's sleep is one of the most crucial things you can do for your body. Too little of it makes you mentally foggy, causes you to eat more and places you at a higher risk of accidents.
So what actually counts as a good night's sleep? That's tricky, because sleep, like underwear, isn't a one-size-fits-all proposition. In fact, too many Z's can kill you (or at least make you more likely to die earlier than your peers).
Your ideal sleep prescription depends somewhat on how much you're sleeping now, according to a study of more than 10,000 people. Here's how it goes:
If you sleep too little, you might need more. When people who usually slept five or six hours a night bumped up their nightly Z's to seven or eight hours, they added years to their lives.
If you sleep enough now, don't go for more. People who normally slept seven to eight hours and got more increased their risk of dying earlier than their peers -- in fact, it rose 75 percent.
If you sleep enough now, don't go for less, either. People who were comfortable sleeping six to eight hours a night didn't do well when they cut sleep short: This raised mortality risk 62 percent over their peers.
So sleep is a Goldilocks thing -- you need to find what's right for you, but it's probably between seven and eight hours. And if you're having trouble sleeping at night or staying awake during the day, see a doc to determine if something other than your time with the sandman is the cause.
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The YOU Docs, Mehmet Oz and Mike Roizen, are authors of "YOU: On a Diet." Want more? See "The Dr. Oz Show" on TV (check local listings). To submit questions, go to www.RealAge.com. (c) 2010 Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc. The YOU Docs -- Mike Roizen and Mehmet Oz -- are authors of the best-selling "YOU: The Owner's Manual" and "YOU: On a Diet." To submit questions and find ways to grow younger and healthier, go to www.RealAge.com, the docs' online home.
Read more about By Michael Roizen, M.D., and Mehmet Oz, M.D. at ArcaMax.com.
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