A new study finds that getting five hours or less of sleep each night increases your chances of being diagnosed with multiple chronic diseases. (Light Poet, Shutterstock)
Estimated duration: 4-5 minutes
TORONTO, CANADA – A new study using data spanning 25 years finds that getting 5 hours or less of sleep each night increases the likelihood of being diagnosed with multiple chronic conditions.
The study, which looked at sleep duration in more than 7,000 participants aged 50, 60 and 70, was published Tuesday in a peer-reviewed journal. pros medicine.
People aged 50 who reported regularly getting 5 hours or less of sleep were 40% more likely to have been diagnosed with two or more chronic conditions in the past 25 years than those who reported getting around 7 hours of sleep. rice field.
“As people get older, their sleep habits and sleep structure change,” said Severin Sabia of the Institute of Epidemiology and Health at University College London, in a press release.
However, seven to eight hours each night is recommended, regardless of age.
Previous research suggests that sleeping above or below this recommended level may be associated with individual chronic conditions, Sabia said.
Another US study published last week found that people who slept less than seven hours Higher prevalence of risk factors for heart diseaseand that sleep deprivation is common among Americans.
Sabia and her team set out to investigate whether there was a link between sleep deprivation and the risk of developing multiple chronic diseases, and researchers say they found just that.
“Our findings show that short sleep duration is also associated with multiple diseases,” said Sabia.
Multimorbidity simply means that two or more chronic diseases occur at the same time. It’s more likely as you get older, but researchers have expressed concern because it appears to be on the rise in some areas.
“Multimorbidity is on the rise in high-income countries, and more than half of older people now have at least two chronic conditions,” said Sabia. “This is proving to be a major challenge for public health, as multimorbidity is associated with high utilization of health services, hospitalizations and disability.”
For this study, researchers examined data from the Whitehall II Cohort Study, a database of over 10,000 people employed by the London Office of the British Civil Service at the start of the data collection phase in 1985.
Participants then reported follow-up to track their age-related health status.
They self-reported their sleep time approximately six times between 1985 and 2016. Researchers separated this data from sleep-time data provided when participants were 50, 60, and 70 years old, looking at about 7,000 participants in total.
We then investigated whether these participants had chronic diseases and, if so, when they developed them.
Their definition of chronic disease included diabetes, cancer, coronary heart disease, stroke, heart failure, chronic kidney disease, liver disease, depression, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and arthritis. was
Supporting previous research on individual chronic disease risk, 50-year-olds getting 5 hours or less of sleep were more likely to be diagnosed with a single chronic disease than those who adhered to recommended hours. 20% higher risk of
They found that those aged 50, 60, and 70 who regularly reported five hours or less of sleep had a 30% to 40% increased risk of multimorbidity compared with those who slept seven hours. understood.
They also found that those who reported five hours of sleep at age 50 were 25% more likely to die at some point during the next 25 years of follow-up. The researchers explained that it could be a cause of mortality.
But does sleeping longer than advised have any link with chronic disease?
According to research, it may be in your 60s and 70s, but it may not be earlier.
When researchers investigated whether sleeping more than 9 hours had a negative impact on health, it was associated with the incidence of multiple diseases in 60- and 70-year-olds.
However, no clear association was found between increased sleep duration and multiple morbidity at age 50 in healthy individuals.
If participants already had one chronic disease at age 50, those who slept for hours had a 35% increased risk of developing another, researchers suggest, likely due to underlying conditions. doing.
The study supports a growing body of research emphasizing the importance of getting a good night’s sleep.
– Joe Whitmore, British Heart Foundation
“Getting enough sleep helps your body rest,” said Joe Whitmore, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, who was not involved in the study.
“There are many other ways that lack of sleep can increase your risk of heart disease and stroke, including increased inflammation and elevated blood pressure.
“This study adds to a body of research highlighting the importance of getting a good night’s sleep.”
A good night’s sleep requires “good sleep hygiene, including making sure your bedroom is quiet, dark and at a comfortable temperature before you go to sleep,” Sabia says.
“Disconnecting electronic devices before bed and avoiding large meals is also recommended. Physical activity and light exposure during the day can also promote good sleep.”
