Which Sleep Profile Are You? The Answer Shapes Your Health

A night of solid rest can feel like a panacea. The quantity and quality of our sleep influence our physical health, our moods, our cognition and our ability to function in almost every aspect of life. Sleep can’t be reduced to a simple binary; researchers are finding it’s more complicated.

In a recent study, scientists analyzed brain scans and data on how shuteye affects many different measures of health. The dataset is based on self-reports from 770 healthy young adults. The researchers used statistical analysis to show that the complex relation between sleep and health can be _________ to five different profiles that describe how certain patterns of sleep are associated with changes in various aspects of our lives.

The profiles point to ways to improve sleep and health. Taking sleeping pills may _________ your memory, for instance, but could benefit your social relationships. And sleeping for at least six to seven hours a night might boost your cognitive performance and _________ your aggression. Sleep is individual, but you can improve it by keeping a regular bedtime, following a routine, and avoiding alcohol before bed.

Fonte: Scientific American. Adaptado.