The world’s largest sleep study was launched in June 2017 and within days more than 40,000 people from around the world began participating in the online scientific investigation, which included an in-depth questionnaire and a series of cognitive performance activities.
Preliminary results released this year by neuroscientists at Western’s Brain and Mind Institute showed people who sleep seven to eight hours per night performed better cognitively than those who slept less – or more – than this amount.
According to the study results, about half of all participants said they typically slept less than 6.3 hours per night, about an hour less than the study’s optimal amount.
Researchers were surprised to discover optimal sleep levels – and levels of impairment for those who had too little or too much sleep – was almost universal and didn’t vary with the age of the participants.
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