Another reason to make sure you’re getting your 7-8 hours of sleep a night: Adults who regularly get less than 6 hours of sleep a night are four times more likely to suffer a stroke, compared to those who get adequate sleep.
A study from the University of Alabama in Birmingham followed 5,666 adults aged 45 or older for three years. According to Time, the participants self-reported their sleep duration and stroke symptoms every six months. The researchers recorded the first stroke symptoms, as well as demographic information, stroke risk factors, depression symptoms and various health behaviors.
Healthy people of normal weight (with no risk factors or history of stroke) who slept less than 6 hours a night were 4.5 times more likely to suffer stroke symptoms than those getting 7-8. And surprisingly, the same elevated risk wasn’t found in overweight or obese people.
“Our thought is that habitually sleeping less than six hours is kind of like a precursor,” Ruiter told MSNBC. “It might kind of lead to some of these stronger and more severe risk factors later on.”
About 30 percent of adults are sleeping six hours or less a night.
For tips on getting a good night’s rest, click here.
