CNN reports on a new study that finds a link between less time in REM sleep and a greater overall risk of death from any cause.

“The effect of short REM time on mortality has not been previously shown,” said Dr. Vsevolod Polotsky, who directs Sleep Basic Research in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and was not involved in the study.REM, which stands for rapid eye movement, is the stage of sleep in which we dream and information and experiences are consolidated and stored in memory.

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