Longevity science

If you’re not willing to send electrical shocks through your brain – “mild” as they might be – to become smarter, here’s a much gentler option: play sounds while you sleep.

Researchers have found that “carefully timed” sounds, like the rise and fall of waves washing against the shore, can help people remember things that they learned the previous day.

Even a small sleep deficit — as little as an hour a night — can lead to some seriously unpleasant conditions, including floppy eyelids, sexual dysfunction and loss of hair, hearing and even vision.

“Because when we don’t get enough sleep, our immune systems go into overdrive, which causes systemic inflammation and turns on dangerous genetic switches.”