New study has found that good sleep is key to preventing any serious illnesses

A GOOD night’s sleep is the key to beating a host of killer conditions, a new study suggests.

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A study has found that a good night's sleep can help prevent serious diseases

Those who go to bed at a decent hour and get up early are less likely to be struck by Alzheimer’s, heart problems, obesity, diabetes and depression.

But the recipe for a refreshing eight hours is easier said than done as artificial light in towns and cities is robbing us of precious shut eye.

Scientists have found a rural community whose elixir for life is a pre industrial age routine.

Experts are convinced the natural sleeping patterns of Baependi (CORR) in south east Brazil could shed light on devastating illnesses crippling those of us who never switch off.

Last night (WEDS) researchers said there is a “massive catalogue” of diseases associated with chronic sleep deprivation.

But in Baependi, residents go to bed at 9.20pm and wake up at 6.30am, enjoying an uninterrupted nine hours ten minutes sleep.

Dr Malcolm von Schantz, of the University of Surrey, who is leading the study, said: “In big cities, the availability of cheap electricity has brought us both artificial lighting and a multitude of other electronic devices that compete with us going to sleep at night.

“As a result, most of us go to bed much later than our ancestors did, and, many of us are sleeping less.

“Even though the people in Baependi have access to electricity and television, their daily rhythms are much closer to those of previous generations.

In big cities, the availability of cheap electricity has brought us both artificial lighting and a multitude of other electronic devices that compete with us going to sleep at night

Dr Malcolm von Schantz, of the University of Surrey

“Studying this population is like being able to look back at past generations through a pair of binoculars and provide an insight into the benefit this natural pattern may be having on their health.”

The joint Universities of Surrey and Sao Paulo study has been published in the respected journal Scientific Reports.

In London, a city bathed in artificial light, most people long to be in bed by 11.15pm and wake at 8.30am but rarely get their preferred nine hours 15 minutes.

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