It’s no mystery that a good night’s sleep and rest can improve your day. But researchers are suggesting that, far from being just enjoyable, quality sleep can even add years to people’s lives.
Men who sleep well on a regular basis can live nearly five years longer than those who don’t, while women can benefit in two years, research suggests. And they too could enjoy better health during their lifetimes.
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The researchers found that young people who had better sleep habits were less likely to die early. But the researchers said their findings indicated that the amount of sleep was not enough to achieve the potential health benefits – sleep quality is also important.
Good sleep was based on five different factors: optimal sleep duration of seven to eight hours a night; difficulty falling asleep no more than twice a week; difficulty sleeping no more than twice a week; do not use any medication to sleep; and feeling well rested after waking up at least five days a week.
The results suggested that around 8% of deaths from any cause can be attributed to poor sleep patterns.
Frank Qian, resident physician in internal medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, USA, said: “We saw a clear dose-response relationship, so the more beneficial factors someone has in terms of sleep quality, having a gradual reduction in all-cause and cardiovascular mortality”.
Qian, a Clinical Fellow in Medicine at Harvard Medical School and co-author of the study, added: “I think these findings emphasize that just getting enough sleep is not enough. You really need to get restful sleep and not have too much trouble falling asleep and staying asleep.”
Each sleep factor was assigned zero or one point for each, up to a maximum of five points, which indicates the best sleep quality.
Qian added: “If people have all these ideal sleep behaviors, they are more likely to live longer. So if we can improve sleep in general, and identifying sleep disorders is especially important, we might be able to avoid some of this premature mortality.”
The researchers included data from 172,321 people with an average age of 50, 54% of whom were women, who participated in the National Health Survey between 2013 and 2018. The survey looked at the health of the US population and included questions about sleep and sleeping habits. .
People were followed for an average of 4.3 years, during which time 8,681 died. Of these deaths, 2610 (30%) were from cardiovascular disease, 2052 (24%) from cancer, and 4019 (46%) from other causes.
The study found that compared to people who had zero to one favorable sleep factors, those who had all five were 30% less likely to die from any reason, 21% less likely to die from cardiovascular disease, 19% less likely of dying from cancer and 40% less likely to die from causes other than heart disease or cancer.
Qian said these other deaths were likely caused by accidents, infections or neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia and Parkinson’s, but more research was needed.
Among men and women who reported having all five measures of quality sleep (a score of five), life expectancy was 4.7 years longer for men and 2.4 years longer for women, compared with those who did not. none or only one of the factors.
For the current study, the researchers estimated gains in life expectancy starting at age 30, but they say the model can also be used to predict gains at older ages.
Qian said, “Even from a young age, if people can develop these good sleep habits of getting enough sleep, making sure they are sleeping without too many distractions, and having good overall sleep hygiene, it can greatly benefit their overall health. long-term. ”
More research is needed to determine why men had twice the increase in life expectancy compared to women who had the same quality of sleep.
A limitation of the study, presented at the American College of Cardiology Annual Scientific Session in conjunction with the World Congress of Cardiology, was that sleep habits were self-reported and not objectively measured or verified.
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