ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Sleeping 5 hours or fewer every night could put you at risk of multiple chronic diseases: study

A woman in white pyjamas lies on a bed. (Photo by cottonbro/Pexels) A woman in white pyjamas lies on a bed. (Photo by cottonbro/Pexels)
Share

A new study using data that spans 25 years has found that getting just five hours of sleep or fewer every night is associated with a higher likelihood of being diagnosed with multiple chronic diseases.

The study, which looked at the sleep duration of more than 7,000 participants at the ages of 50, 60 and 70, was published Tuesday in the peer-reviewed journal

Those who reported regularly getting five hours of sleep or fewer at age 50 were 40 per cent more likely to have been diagnosed with two or more chronic diseases over the past 25 years, compared to people who slept around seven hours a night, the study found.

Severine Sabia of University College London’s Institute of Epidemiology & Health and the lead author of the study, said that “as people get older, their sleep habits and sleep structure change.â€

But getting seven to eight hours each night is still recommended, regardless of age.

Previous research has suggested that sleep durations above or below this recommended level may be associated with individual chronic diseases, Sabia noted.

A separate U.S. study published last week found that people who slept fewer than seven hours had a higher prevalence of heart disease risk factors, and that poor sleep is common among Americans.

Sabia and her team set out to investigate whether there was an association with less sleep and the risk of developing multiple chronic conditions, and researchers say that’s exactly what they found.

“Our findings show that short sleep duration is also associated with multimorbidity,†Sabia said.

Multimorbidity simply means the co-occurrence of two or more chronic conditions. It’s something that becomes more likely as we age, but researchers expressed concerned as it appears to be on the rise in some regions.

“Multimorbidity is on the rise in high-income countries, and more than half of older adults now have at least two chronic diseases,†Sabia said. “This is proving to be a major challenge for public health, as multimorbidity is associated with high health care service use, hospitalizations and disability.â€

For this study, researchers looked at data from the Whitehall II cohort study, a database of more than 10,000 people who were employed in the London offices of the British Civil Service at the beginning of the data collection phase in 1985.

Participants then reported for followups to track their health as they aged.

They self-reported on their sleep duration around six times between 1985 and 2016. Researchers looked at this data and isolated sleep duration data given from participants when they were 50, 60 and 70 years of age, looking at around 7,000 participants in total.

They then looked at whether these participants had any chronic conditions, and, if so, when they developed.

Their definition of chronic diseases 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.

Supporting previous research regarding the risk of individual chronic illnesses, sleeping for five hours or fewer at age 50 was associated with a 20 per cent risk of being diagnosed with a single chronic illness, compared to those getting the recommended hours.

They found that those who reported regularly sleeping for five hours or fewer at the age of 50, 60 and 70 had a 30-40 per cent increased risk of multimorbidity compared to people who were sleeping for around seven hours a night.

They also found that those who reported five hours of sleep at age 50 were 25 per cent more likely to have subsequently died at some point across the 25-year followup period — an association that may have to do with the increased risk of chronic diseases that could be responsible for mortality, researchers explained.

But does sleeping longer than advised have any associations with chronic illness?

According to the research, it might when we’re getting up into our 60s and 70s, but perhaps not before.

When researchers looked at whether sleeping for nine hours or more had any negative health outcomes, there was an association between the incidence of multimorbidity at age 60 and age 70.

However, they found no clear association between extended sleep durations at age 50 in healthy people and multimorbidity.

If participants already had one chronic illness at age 50, long sleepers did have a 35 per cent increased risk of developing another illness, perhaps due to underlying health conditions, researchers suggest.

Jo Whitmore, a senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation who was not involved in the research, said in the release that “Getting enough sleep allows your body to rest.

“There are a host of other ways that poor sleep could increase the risk of heart disease or stroke, including by increasing inflammation and increasing blood pressure,†she added.

“This research adds to a growing body of research that highlights the importance of getting a good night’s sleep.â€

Sabia said that getting a good night’s sleep requires “good sleep hygiene, such as making sure the bedroom is quiet, dark and a comfortable temperature before sleeping.

“It’s also advised to remove electronic devices and avoid large meals before bedtime. Physical activity and exposure to light during the day might also promote good sleep.â€

CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.

An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.

Emergency crews in northern Ontario found the bodies of four people inside a home where a fire broke out Thursday night.

The Montreal couple from Mexico and their three children facing deportation have received a temporary residence permit.

Local Spotlight

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.

Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.