Well-rested people are perceived to be younger, healthier and more attractive – and even if you’ve been dog-tired for months, it takes only one night of great sleep for your beauty and health score to head back up, a recent Swedish study shows. At the same time, fitting in at least seven hours of sleep nightly single-handedly cuts your risk of colorectal adenomas (abnormal cells that can quickly turn cancerous) in half, according to just-published Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine research. “Less sleep can lower your production of melatonin, a natural hormone that helps repair damaged DNA,” explains lead scientist Li Li, M.D. “It can also trigger insulin resistance, which has been shown to increase the risk of colon cancer.”
-Brenda Kearns
