A study suggests that mastering five key sleep habits can reduce your risk of death by 30 percent.
Harvard University researchers say they have conducted one of the most comprehensive areas of sleep research to date.
They say that while previous research has looked at sleep duration, other bedtime behaviors have been neglected.
Using their new five-rule method, the researchers estimate that 8 percent of all-cause deaths in the United States can be attributed to poor sleep patterns.
The five components are: seven to eight hours a night, difficulty sleeping more than two nights a week, no more than two naps a week, not using sleeping pills, and being well-rested after waking up at least five times. Days of the week.
Nearly one-third of American adults fail to get at least seven hours of sleep each night as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Sleep is essential for the brain and body to recover and repair, and those who don’t get enough or repeated sleep may have a higher risk of many diseases, including coronary heart disease and cancer.
The study authors say this is the first time a nationally representative sample has been used to examine how sleep habits in general, rather than sleep duration, affect life expectancy.
Researchers at Harvard’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston looked at data on 172,321 people between 2013 and 2018.
The data came from participants in the National Health Interview Survey, an annual public health survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Center for Health Statistics, which includes questions about sleep.
The research team combined that data with National Death Index records to examine the relationship between people’s sleep factors and cause of death.
They examined five different indicators of sleep quality: ideal sleep duration of seven to eight hours a night; Difficulty falling asleep more than twice a week; trouble sleeping more than twice a week; Not using any sleeping pills; and rests well after waking up at least five days a week.
Participants were given a score of zero or one for each criterion depending on whether they met it, with a maximum of five points.
Factors that increase a person’s likelihood of dying, such as low socioeconomic status, smoking and alcohol consumption, and other medical conditions, were controlled for.
Those who met all five criteria were 30 percent less likely to die from any cause, compared with those who met none or none of the sleep habits.
Those who slept more were 21 percent less likely to die from cardiovascular disease and 19 percent less likely to die from cancer.
They were 40 percent less likely to die from causes other than heart disease or cancer.
Dr. Frank Qian, a physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and study co-author, said these other causes could be accidents, infections or neurodegenerative diseases including dementia and Parkinson’s, but said more research is needed.
Limitations of the study included self-reported sleep habits.
Information on what type of sleep medication patients were using or for how long was also not available.
The full results will be presented at the American College of Cardiology and World Heart Association joint conference in New Orleans between March 4-6.
