This week in sleep news…
Lack of sleep may increase the risk of developing depressive symptoms
If there weren’t enough reasons so get your full seven to eight hours, a new study has shown that sleeping less than five hours a night on a regular basis may raise your risk of developing symptoms of depression. This study, which was led by the University College London, looked at data from 7,146 participants around the age of 65. They found that participants who slept less than five hours per night were 2.5 times more likely to develop symptoms of depression. They also found that sleeping longer than nine hours was associated with a 1.5 times greater likelihood of developing depression symptoms.
Furthermore, researchers also looked into genetic associations. They found that while those who were genetically predisposed to short sleep were more likely to develop depressive symptoms over four to 12 years, those who were genetically predisposed to depression were not more likely to have short sleep.
Snoozing may not be that bad for you after all
While snoozing had previously been thought to impact your overall sleep quality, a team of Swedish scientists published a new study this week that suggests hitting the snooze button isn’t as bad as previously thought. Researchers looked at the effects of snoozing, or using intermittent alarms, to delay getting out of bed. They had 31 participants who commonly hit snooze spend several nights in a sleep lab. On one morning, they were allowed to hit the snooze button every 10 minutes or so, for up to 30 extra minutes of rest. On another morning, they had to get up right after their alarm went off. Immediately after the participants woke up, the researchers had participants complete math problems and other cognitive tests.
After analyzing the results, the researchers found that overall, participants performed slightly better on some of the cognition tests when they were allowed to snooze for 30 minutes. Additionally, sleep quality wasn’t significantly worse because of the morning snoozing.
In fun sleep news …
A once-thriving shoemaking town in France has become a sleep destination. An initiative called BedinShop is aimed at regenerating the medieval town center of Romans-sur-Isère, about 90 minutes south of Lyon, by converting the shuttered storefronts into lodging. Once the capital of luxury shoemaking in France, the town has struggled since work was outsourced overseas, but BedinShop is informational, showing old ways of working in custom apartments.
‘Dancing With the Stars’ dancer Lindsay Arnold starts sleep training
“Dancing with the Stars” cast member Lindsay Arnold shared on TikTok that she’s started the sleep-training journey with her five-month-old daughter, June, and has finally gotten a full night’s rest for the first time since the infant was born. Sleep is one of the most challenging aspects of early parenthood, so we’re wishing Arnold many more nights of peaceful slumber to come!
In sleep-centric social media ...
Looking to get into the mood for spooky season? TikToker extrasadspice opened up her coffin bed to fans and answered burning questions about sleeping like a vampire. She shared that her coffin comes outfitted with four inches of memory foam, and that while the lid does allow for airflow, she doesn’t close it while she sleeps.
