Mastering five key sleep habits can reduce your risk of premature death by 30 percent, according to a study.
Researchers from Harvard University claim to have conducted one of the most comprehensive sleep studies to date.
They say that while previous research has examined sleep duration, other sleep-time behaviors have been neglected.
With their new five-line method, men can extend their lives by up to five years, the researchers found.
They also estimate that eight percent of all deaths from all causes in the US are due to poor sleep patterns.
People who met all five criteria were 30 percent less likely to die from any cause than those who met none or none of the sleep habits, the Harvard researchers found.
The five components are: sleeping seven to eight hours a night, having trouble falling asleep more than two nights a week, having trouble staying asleep more than twice a week, not taking sleeping pills, and wake up, feel well rested and wash at least five o’clock. days a week.
Nearly a third of American adults regularly do not get the minimum seven hours of sleep per night recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Sleep is an important rest period for the brain and body to rest and recover, and those who don’t get enough or wake up repeatedly may be at increased risk for a variety of diseases, including coronary heart disease and cancer.
This is the first time a nationally representative sample has been used to study how sleep habits in general, and not just sleep duration, can affect life expectancy, the study authors claimed.
Researchers at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center at Harvard in Boston looked at data from 172,321 people between 2013 and 2018.
The data came from people who participated in the National Health Interview Survey, an annual general health survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Center for Health Statistics that included questions about sleep.
The research team linked the data to records from the National Death Index to examine the relationship between people’s sleep factors and the cause of death.
They examined five different indicators of sleep quality: the ideal sleep duration of seven to eight hours per night; difficulty falling asleep more than twice a week; difficulty falling asleep no more than twice a week; do not use sleeping pills; and wake up feeling rested at least five days a week.
Participants received a score of zero or one for each criterion, depending on whether they met it, with a maximum of five points.
Factors that may have increased people’s likelihood of dying were controlled, such as: B. lower socioeconomic status, smoking and alcohol consumption and other diseases.
Those who met all five criteria were 30 percent less likely to die from any cause than those who met none or none of the sleep habits.
The top sleepers were 21 percent less likely to die from cardiovascular disease and 19 percent less likely to die from cancer.
They were also 40 percent less likely to die from causes other than heart disease or cancer.
Dr. Frank Qian, a Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center physician and co-author of the study, said these other causes are likely to be accidents, infections or neurodegenerative diseases, including dementia and Parkinson’s, but added that more research is needed.
The limitations of the study include the fact that the sleep habits were self-reported.
There was also no information on what type of sleeping pills the patients were taking and for how long.
The impact of meeting all five sleep parameters was greater in men than in women. Life expectancy was 4.7 years longer for men and 2.4 years longer for women than those who met only one or none of the goals.
However, more research is needed to establish why such gender differences occur.
Study participants were followed for an average of 4.3 years, during which 8,681 people died. About 2,610 deaths (30 percent) were from cardiovascular disease, 2,052 (24 percent) from cancer and 4,019 (46 percent) from other causes.
Previous research has shown that too much or too little sleep can have negative effects on the heart.
Dr. Qian said, “We saw a clear dose-response relationship. The more favorable factors someone has with regard to higher sleep quality, the lower their all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.
“I think these results highlight that enough hours of sleep is not enough. You need to sleep very well and have no problems falling asleep or staying asleep.”
He added: “If people can develop these good sleep habits from an early age, getting enough sleep, making sure they sleep without too many distractions, and generally having good sleep hygiene, it can improve their overall long-term health significantly improved.”
“It’s important for younger people to understand that many health behaviors are cumulative over time. As we like to say, “It’s never too late to exercise or quit smoking,” it’s never too early. And we need to talk about and evaluate sleep more often.”
Full results will be presented March 4-6 in New Orleans at the American College of Cardiology-World Heart Federation joint conference.
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
