Getting enough shuteye at night may be a matter of life and death
Getting too much or too little sleep both have their fair share of health risks.
Those who get “regular-optimal” sleep at night have a significantly lower premature death risk, according to a new study published in Sleep Research Society.
Lead author Joon Chung said, “If sleep were an eight-hour pill, it would be beneficial to take the full dose at regular times consistently ... Getting adequate, regular sleep seems to be something that is good for all. I don’t know of anyone who wouldn’t benefit,” per Daily Mail.
The study consisted of 1,726 participants for a median of seven years. Researchers studied sleep patterns, specifically the length of sleep and consistency in the participants, using a wrist actigraphy that they were asked to wear for seven days.
A wrist actigraphy is able to measure an individual’s sleep quality and pattern in their natural sleep environment, according to the National Institutes of Health.
The participants were categorized into two groups: 1,015 people were labeled “regular-optimal” sleepers and 744 were labeled “irregular-insufficient” sleepers.
During the seven-year follow-up, 176 of the participants died.
The results found that “the ‘regular-optimal’ group had 42% lower mortality risk compared to the ‘irregular-insufficient’ sleep group,” the study said.
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Fariha Abassi-Feinberg, sleep specialist with the Millennium Physician Group in Fort Meyers, Florida, told Medscape, “We know our bodies have an internal clock, known as the circadian rhythm, which regulates various biological processes, including sleep-wake cycles. Sticking to a consistent sleep schedule allows your body to align its natural rhythm with the external day-night cycle. This synchronization promotes better sleep quality and therefore better health.”
Not getting enough sleep at night can have painful and even deadly results. The National Institutes of Health connected a lack of sleep with potential chronic illnesses such as heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity and depression.
“This study joins a body of evidence linking poor sleep with higher mortality,” Dr. Baljinder S. Sidhu told Fox News, noting that “7-8 hours of sleep of regular consistency (to allow normal circadian rhythm) reduces risk from a number of causes of death (accidents, cardiovascular, cancer, etc.).”
Chung said that the results that he and his researchers found should open up a broader conversation on the importance of getting good sleep at night, adding that a person’s sleep schedule should be consistent even on the weekends, per Medscape.
