You need SEVEN hours sleep to be productive in the library, says new study

You can smoke, drink and eat as much as you like, so long as you get SEVEN hours sleep, says a news study. 

New research says you don’t need the recommended eight hours to get your head down in the library – and it doesn’t matter if you’ve been boozing the night before.

Researchers at Cambridge University and Rand Europe found that alcohol doesn’t affect your productivity, but sleep does.

Catching less than six hours will make you way more sluggish the next day.

In a study of more than 21,000 people, they found those who got at least seven hours sleep got more done the next day.

But slamming pints, chaining cigs and eating junk appeared to have no effect.

Shaun Subel from Vitality Health, who commissioned the survey, said he was “quite surprised” three of our favourite things had no effect.

He told the Financial Times how the study only measured getting stuff done in the short-term, while some of our favourite habits could cause problems for productivity in the long run.

Lack of sleep isn’t the only thing slowing you down, as being worried about money, not doing any exercise and having bad blood with flatmates or coursemates are also making you unproductive.

If you’re working all night in the library, scientists recently revealed you should probably just go home, as all-nighters for revision are pointless and cramming is only useful for a few hours.

They found sleep is important to help remember the stuff you’re reading, and that just like a boring lecture, your notes go in one ear and out the other.

But it’s not only killing your memory. Late night study sessions could be seriously damaging your health.

This comes after researchers from Uppsala University Sweden previously found going without sleep for just one night causes changes in the brain similar to those that occur after a blow to the head.

Study author Professor Christian Benedict said: “What we found was their levels in the blood rose in the group that went without sleep for a night.

“During sleep, the brain cleanses itself of toxic substances,” he told The Mail Online.

Study says get seven hours sleep or the next day will be a nightmare