The perfect amount of sleep for people 40+, student debt may pose a threat to health, and more health news

Are you over 40 and wonder what the magic amount of sleep every night might be? A new study arrives at an answer.

“Getting a good night’s sleep is important at all stages of life, but particularly as we age. Finding ways to improve sleep for older people could be crucial to helping them maintain good mental health and well-being and avoiding cognitive decline, particularly for patients with psychiatric disorders and dementias,” said study author Barbara Sahakian, from the University of Cambridge’s department of psychiatry, in England.

Women and people of color with chest pain — the most common symptom signaling a heart attack — face longer waits in U.S. emergency departments than men and white people do, new research reveals.

For the study, researchers analyzed data on more than 4,000 patients, aged 18 to 55, seen for chest pain at emergency departments nationwide between 2014 and 2018.

The investigators found that: women waited nearly 11 minutes longer to be seen by a health care provider than men (48 minutes versus 37 minutes, respectively).

As the Biden Administration weighs the possibility of broad student loan forgiveness, a new study finds that people mired in student debt face a heightened risk of heart disease by middle age.

The findings are not the first to suggest that student debt can take a mental and physical toll.

Young adults who are paying off huge loans have been shown to have poorer sleep, higher blood pressure and higher rates of smoking than their debt-free peers — though why remains uncertain.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common and often easily managed, yet some women are plagued by one infection after another. Now, a new study hints at a culprit: the antibiotics used to treat them.

UTIs can affect anyone, but are particularly prevalent among women. Studies suggest that up to 80% of women develop a UTI at some point, and about one-quarter of them have frequent recurrences.

Exactly why those women suffer repeat bouts has been unclear.