You may feel sleepy during the day or it may be very difficult to get out of bed in the morning. You are probably experiencing these because you are not getting quality sleep. This may be a more serious problem than needing coffee. A new study shows how getting a good night's sleep can add years to your life. The findings prove that as many as 8 percent of deaths from any cause can be attributed to poor sleep patterns, and that those with healthier sleep habits are increasingly less likely to die prematurely.
If You Have Five Factors, You Are In The Low Risk Group
The study used data from the National Health Interview Survey of more than 172,000 participants from 1997 to 2018 and from the National Death Index enrollment to December 31, 2019, to examine the relationship between individual and combined sleep factors and death. Researchers created a sleep pattern score using five sleep-related factors and identified low-risk groups:
- Sleep 7 to 8 hours a day
- Difficulty falling asleep less than twice a week
- Trouble falling asleep less than twice a week
- Not using sleeping pills
- Waking up rested at least five days a week
Researchers estimate that about 8 percent of the risk of dying from any cause is due to poor sleep patterns. 30-year-olds with all five low-risk sleep factors had a longer life expectancy of about 5 years for men and about 2.5 years for women compared to those with none or no low-risk sleep factors.
Those with all factors were found to be 30 percent less likely to die from any cause, 21 percent less likely to die from cardiovascular disease, 19 to die from cancer, and 40 percent less likely to die from causes other than heart disease or cancer, than those with a zero to one factor.
7-8 Hours Of Sleep Is Very Important
Everyone has different sleep routines, different preferred sleep and wake times. The important thing is to keep the time consistent. In general, we spend 16 hours of the day awake and 8 hours of sleep. And in these 8 hours, we are trying to repair the fatigue and stress we have doubled. That's why an average of 7-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep is extremely important.
For A Better Sleep
- Go to bed at the same time every night and wake up at the same time in the morning.
- To exercise
- Dim the lights, dim the screen lights 1-2 hours before going to bed
- Cut down on caffeine 5-6 hours before bed
- If you can't sleep for 30 minutes after going to bed, take a warm shower.
- Make your room dark, quiet and cool
Important For Heart Health
The American Heart Association recently added sleep to seven key elements evaluated to measure heart health. The heart health checklist is now called the "core 8" because research has long shown that sleep health is important to heart health.
Insufficient Sleep Puts General Health in Danger
Sleep quality is as important as sleep duration. If you sleep enough and still feel tired and sleepy during the day, it is useful to be examined for problems such as sleep apnea. Also, if you take frequent naps during the day, it's a sign that you're not sleeping well at night. On the other hand, research shows that frequent napping is linked to a higher risk of hypertension and stroke.
Not Sleeping Well Stresses the Body
Sleep is a factor that affects every aspect of health. The inability to sleep well puts the body in a state of stress in which excessive amounts of the stress hormone cortisol are released. This increase in essential cortisol leads to weakening of blood vessels and inflammation that can lead to heart disease. Also, when you sleep poorly, you are less likely to be active and more likely to forego nutritious food choices that put you at risk for obesity. The immune system works best at night, so consistently insufficient sleep increases the risk of infection. Insufficient sleep also significantly increases the likelihood of experiencing anxiety and depression.