The widely-held belief that elderly people need less sleep than youngsters was challenged at this year�s meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science by a Californian researcher, Professor Sean Drummond, an expert in sleep and memory.

Because elderly people find it more difficult to sleep soundly, they assume that they do not need so much. However, according to Dr Drummond, limited sleep could damage health and brain ability, and maintaining the same amount of sleep you had at the age of 35 could help ward off age-related cognitive decline and improve general health.

Dr Drummond’s research was carried out on 33 volunteers with an average age of 68, and the results showed that insufficient sleep severely affected the brain’s capacity to function. “Seven to eight hours sleep seems to be the optimal for longevity”, he said. “Fewer than six hours has the effect of reducing the ability to carry out tasks and remember things.”

For further information on this year’s proceedings go to www.aaas.org/meetings/.