Harvard Health Blog Shorter dream-stage sleep may be related to earlier death POSTED SEPTEMBER 18, 2020, 6:30 AM Lawrence Epstein, MD, Contributor Alice Cai, MD, Contributor Time and time again, adequate sleep has been shown to be critical to daily functioning and long-term health. Sleep serves numerous roles: recovering energy for the brain, clearing waste products, and forming memories. Prior studies have clearly linked shortened sleep times to heart disease, obesity, reduced cognitive performance, worsened mood, and even a shorter life. There is now new research that suggests that lack of a certain type of sleep (the dream stage of sleep) may be related to an earlier death in middle-aged and older people. Learn more »

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