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This newsletter took me longer than usual to write. It has been
very warm
in Britain for the past few days, and I’ve been struggling to sleep. Besides making you grumpy, lack of shut-eye dulls your wits and makes it hard to think properly. At least I don’t run a nuclear
power plant
or sail
oil tankers
for a living.
Which brings us to the topic of this week’s newsletter. Everyone knows that a lack of sleep is bad for you. In recent years sleep scientists have become increasingly convinced that too much might not be ideal either. As in all things, moderation seems to be the order of the day (or night). But how much exactly should you aim for?
You will need to
read the column
for the full details, but the answer partly depends on how old you are. Babies need an awful lot of sleep. Adults need less, and the results seem to support the observation that the elderly can get by with less still.
As usual, all this comes with a health warning. “Mr Average” does not exist, which means applying population-level results to your own life must be done with care. The truly committed can buy a sleep tracker, the topic of another recent column. But as we noted in both that column and this one, too much focus on sleep can be counterproductive. Everyone has experienced the self-defeating frustration of lying awake, fretting about the fact that you aren’t sleeping.
What’s your secret to a good night’s sleep? If it involves reading this newsletter before bed, I’ll try not to take it personally. Send your thoughts to
wellinformed@economist.com.
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