Research has shown that ‘sleep health’, including not only sleep time but also bedtime and regularit..

Research has shown that ‘sleep health’, including not only sleep time but also bedtime and regularity, can affect cardiovascular, metabolic, and cognitive health. In particular, in the case of adolescents, the habit of sleeping earlier and longer was found to be associated with improved cognitive performance compared to peers.

According to the Science Daily on the 13th, a comprehensive analysis of adult sleep divided into several factors such as total sleep time, bedtime and weather time, sleep regularity, and sleep quality showed that staying up late is not good. Simply filling 7 to 9 hours is not enough, and regular sleep patterns that fall asleep and wake up at similar times each day tended to be more closely associated with cardiovascular health indicators.

In particular, associations with metabolic risk factors such as blood pressure, blood sugar, and body mass index (BMI) were observed when bedtime and wake-up times change frequently, and patterns with low sleep quality or frequent waking at night were also suggested to be linked to cognitive function and brain health indicators. The researchers explained that as sleep is a key factor in controlling the circadian rhythm, not only the “amount” of sleep but also “rhythm” and “consistency” are important.

However, the researchers added that this analysis is based on observational studies, and it cannot be concluded that certain sleeping habits directly cause the disease. Nevertheless, he stressed that regular sleep habits suggest that it can help with overall health care.

A separate study also confirmed the importance of adolescent sleep. A research team from Cambridge University in the UK and Fudan University in China analyzed the objective sleep data of about 3,200 adolescents aged 11 to 14 who participated in a large-scale long-term study in the United States. As a result, adolescents who went to bed earlier and slept for a relatively long time showed higher grades in cognitive tests (reading, vocabulary, problem-solving ability) than their peers, and brain volume and function tended to be better in brain scans.

The researchers explained that the group that fell asleep the earliest and slept the longest recorded the highest score on the cognitive test, followed by the middle group and the late group. However, most of these adolescents did not reach the 8-10 hours of sleep recommended by the American Society of Sleep Medicine.

“Sleep is an important process of strengthening memory and maintaining neural circuits,” experts say. “Sleep is especially key to brain development and cognitive function formation in adolescence.” They added that regular exercise and refraining from using smartphones and electronic devices late at night can help form good sleep habits.