Michael Langston

One of the functions of sleep, especially deep sleep, is to clear the brain of toxins, some of which have been implicated in Alzheimer’s. Insufficient sleep has been linked to a higher risk of Alzheimer’s. This is another great reason to prioritize sleep.

Diseases don’t just happen for no reason. Diet and lifestyle factors largely determine whether we’re sick or well, and perhaps the most important lifestyle factor of them all in determining the state of our health is the quantity and quality of our sleep.

If you’re being awakened from a sound sleep by an alarm clock each day and if you would sleep quite a bit longer without an alarm, that’s a pretty good sign that your brain and your body are not done with sleep at that point and you’re not getting enough.

If you’re getting 6 hours or less of sleep each night, that’s way less than the amount required for optimal brain and body health. Only a tiny fraction of the population can thrive on this amount without any impairment. Most need on average about 8 hours.

If health is your priority, it is essential to make sleep your priority as well because sleep has an even greater influence on health and well-being than diet and exercise. People need on average about 8 hours of regular sleep at the proper time of night.