REM 睡眠多一点，与 83 种疾病风险更低相关：9.5 万人队列研究说了什么

It's easy to shirk on sleep when life gets hectic. But new research suggests that's a really bad idea for your overall health.

The PLOS study found a link between getting more of a particular phase of sleep and a lower risk of developing 83 diseases, suggesting that good sleep contributes to much more than just how you feel the next day.

So, what's behind this link and how can you lean more into this all-important phase of sleep? A sleep medicine specialist and neurologist explain.

Meet the experts: Beth Malow, MD, a neurologist and chief of the Division of Sleep Disorders at Vanderbilt Health; Anna Hohler, MD, director of neurology for Northwell Health's Westchester Region

What did the study find?

For the study, researchers analyzed a week's worth of sleep tracker data from more than 95,000 people who participated in the UK Biobank, a large-scale biomedical database. The researchers then looked at the health data from these participants about nine years later.

The sleep tracking data looked at how long participants spent in different stages of sleep including REM, which is the stage where you dream. The researchers discovered that people who got more REM sleep had a lowered risk of developing 83 different diseases and health conditions.

There was a huge range of conditions that could be impacted by this. But in general, people who got more REM sleep saw a lower risk of developing these conditions:

• Heart failure (26% lower risk)
• Dementia (46% lower risk)
• Parkinson's disease (80% lower risk)

The researchers also found that more REM sleep lowered the risk of immune disorders, skin conditions, obesity, type 2 diabetes, mental health disorders, musculoskeletal conditions, and more.

"The findings underscore that maintaining six to eight hours of sleep is associated with a more favorable sleep architecture and lower disease risk, offering insights for prevention and health promotion," the researchers wrote in the study.

What exactly is REM sleep?

REM stands for "rapid eye movement." This is the stage of sleep where we consolidate memories and learning, according to Beth Malow, MD, a neurologist and chief of the Division of Sleep Disorders at Vanderbilt Health.

Anna Hohler, MD, director of neurology for Northwell Health's Westchester Region, refers to REM sleep as "one of the most biologically active stages of sleep," noting that it plays a "critical role" in your brain health, emotional regulation, memory consolidation, and autonomic nervous system function.

"During REM sleep, the brain processes information, regulates stress responses, and supports connections between different neural networks," Dr. Hohler explains.

Why might more REM sleep lower the risk of diseases?

The researchers didn't dive into that—they just found a link between people who logged more REM sleep and a lower risk of disease. However, there are a few theories.

"Adequate REM sleep may help limit chronic inflammation and promote cardiovascular and metabolic health," Dr. Hohler says. When you factor all of that in, along with what REM sleep does, it "could explain why individuals who spend more time in REM sleep appear to have a lower risk of a wide range of conditions, from heart disease to neurodegenerative disorders," she says.

How to get more REM sleep

While you can't pick and choose how much time you spend in each sleep cycle, the best way to get more REM sleep is to make sure you're logging enough sleep at baseline, Dr. Hohler says. "REM periods become progressively longer as the night goes on, so consistently sleeping seven to nine hours gives your brain the opportunity to complete multiple REM cycles," she says.

"Normally, we want about 15 to 20 percent of our sleep to be REM," Dr. Malow says.

Sticking with a consistent sleep schedule, exercising regularly, managing stress, limiting alcohol, and treating sleep disorders like obstructive sleep apnea can all help optimize REM sleep, according to Dr. Hohler.

How can you gauge your REM if you don't have a wearable?

It's hard to know for sure without a wearable device or a formal sleep study. "However, there are indirect clues that your sleep architecture is healthy, such as waking up feeling refreshed, maintaining good daytime alertness, and occasionally remembering vivid dreams, which often occur during REM sleep," Dr. Hohler says. (She points out that consumer sleep trackers can provide estimates, but they aren't as accurate as medical sleep testing.)

If you're having persistent fatigue, excessive daytime sleepiness, or cognitive concerns, despite getting enough time in bed, Dr. Hohler recommends talking to your healthcare provider or a sleep specialist. Finding a solution could do more than help you wake up feeling refreshed—it could support your overall health, too.