Too much or too little sleep can boost your risk of death, British researchers report.

“In terms of prevention, our findings indicate that consistently sleeping seven or eight hours a night is optimal for health,” study author Jane E. Ferrie, of University College London Medical School, said in a prepared statement.

Her team studied more than 8,000 people, aged 35 to 55, who were followed for a number of years.

Among participants who slept six, seven or eight hours a night at the start of the study, a decrease in nightly sleep duration was associated with a 110 percent excess risk of cardiovascular-related death.

Similarly, among those who slept seven or eight hours per night at the start of the study, an increase in nightly sleep duration was associated with a 110 percent excess risk of non-cardiovascular death.

The study appears in the Dec. 1 issue of Sleep.

On average, most adults need seven to eight hours of sleep per night to feel well-rested and alert, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

We are continuously told to reduce our sodium intake by eating a low sodium diet. Dr.s, dietitians, and nutritionists insist it’s good for our cardiovascular system especially if one has cardiovascular disease. But is it?

Salt induced hypertension, despite what you’ve heard, is very uncommon. More-over, the vast majority of people who switch to a diet low in sodium have no change in blood pressure and may be doing more harm than good. According to a cohort study of 7154 individuals, sodium is inversely related to cardiovascular mortality.

After adjusting for variables, low sodium consumption was associated with a 37% greater risk for cardiovascular disease mortality, and 28% increased risk of all-cause mortality.