Sleep

New findings from a team of researchers at the UK have pinned lucky number seven as the number of hours of sleep for the average human being. That would be you, of course, lest you went to space and came back more normal. Jokes aside though, scientists believe that sleeping for more than seven hours is just as bad as sleeping for less.

Getting ready to clock your shut-eye time? Don't fret just yet. These findings from the Medical School at the University of Warwick only claimed that risks of death were far higher with irregular sleep time. Of course, much of the other factors such as diet, exercise, and lifestyle were not detailed and deemed consistent throughout the 10,308 civil servants tested, nor the condition of the living environment in 1985 to 1988 (the first period) and 1992 to 1993 (second period).

What was discovered, however, was that more sleep may be more harmful than lesser sleep, as those getting less than the recommended "40 winks" were observed to have a 70% increase of mortality risk. Get more sleep than recommended, and the risks climb to 100%.

So while scientists try and make up their minds, just stick to what suits your lifestyle and biological clock. Besides, if your amount of sleep keeps you bright and chipper, there's no need to adjust again unless absolutely necessary.