Summary of Want To Live Longer? Getting Good Sleep Could Add Years to Your Life:
This study found that having five low-risk sleep habits can have long-term benefits, such as reducing all-cause mortality and increasing life expectancy. Participants with all five low-risk sleep factors were 30% less likely to die for any reason, 21% less likely to die from cardiovascular disease, 19% less likely to die from cancer, and 40% less likely to die of other causes. Men with all five low-risk sleep factors had a 4.7 year increase in life expectancy, while women had a 2.4 year increase. Poor sleep patterns accounted for approximately 8% of all-cause mortality. The study emphasizes the importance of having restful sleep and not just getting enough hours of sleep.
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The Impact of Sleep Quality on Heart Health and Longevity
New research links better sleep habits to lower mortality rates
New research being presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session Together With the World Congress of Cardiology indicates that getting sufficient, high-quality sleep can have a positive impact on your heart health, overall well-being, and longevity. The study reveals that young people with better sleep habits have a reduced likelihood of early death, with poor sleep patterns accounting for approximately 8% of all-cause mortality.
What are the five low-risk sleep habits?
Having five low-risk sleep habits may have long-term benefits. These include:
- Ideal sleep duration of seven to eight hours a night
- Difficulty falling asleep no more than two times a week
- Trouble staying asleep no more than two times a week
- Not using any sleep medication
- Feeling well rested after waking up at least five days a week
What did the study find?
For their analysis, Qian and team included data from 172,321 people (average age 50 and 54% women) who participated in the National Health Interview Survey between 2013 and 2018. This survey is fielded each year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Center for Health Statistics to help gauge the health of the U.S. population and includes questions about sleep and sleep habits.
Researchers assessed five different factors of quality sleep using a low-risk sleep score they created based on answers collected as part of the survey. Factors included: 1) ideal sleep duration of seven to eight hours a night; 2) difficulty falling asleep no more than two times a week; 3) trouble staying asleep no more than two times a week; 4) not using any sleep medication; and 5) feeling well rested after waking up at least five days a week. Each factor was assigned zero or one point for each, for a maximum of five points, which indicated the highest quality sleep.
Compared to individuals who had zero to one favorable sleep factors, those who had all five were 30% less likely to die for any reason, 21% less likely to die from cardiovascular disease, 19% less likely to die from cancer, and 40% less likely to die of causes other than heart disease or cancer. Qian said these other deaths are likely due to accidents, infections or neurodegenerative diseases, such as dementia and Parkinson’s disease, but more research is needed.
Among men and women who reported having all five quality sleep measures (a score of five), life expectancy was 4.7 years greater for men and 2.4 years greater for women compared with those who had none or only one of the five favorable elements of low-risk sleep.
What are the implications?
Qian said these findings emphasize that just getting enough hours of sleep isn’t sufficient. You really have to have restful sleep and not have much trouble falling and staying asleep.
“If people have all these ideal sleep behaviors, they are more likely to live longer,” Qian said. “So, if we can improve sleep overall, and identifying sleep disorders is especially important, we may be able to prevent some of this premature mortality.”
These sleep habits can be easily asked about during clinical encounters, and the researchers hope patients and clinicians will start talking about sleep as part of their overall health assessment and disease management planning. One limitation of the study is that sleep habits were self-reported and not objectively measured or verified. In addition, no information was available about the types of sleep aid or medicine used or how often or long participants used them. Future research is needed to understand how these gains in life expectancy might continue as people age, as well as further explore the sex differences that were observed.
Conclusion
These findings emphasize the importance of getting enough high-quality sleep for overall health and longevity. While more research is needed to understand the implications of this study, it is clear that sleep is an important factor to consider when it comes to heart health and living a long life.
