Not Enough, or Too Much, Sleep Can Shorten Lifespan
On the heels of research suggesting that people who sleep less than eight hours live longer come new findings that say too little sleep or too much can put a dent in your lifespan.
Two studies out of Boston being presented this week at the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies indicate that seven to eight hours of sleep per night is most associated with living longer and a lowered chance of developing heart disease, reports MSNBC.
One study of more than 4,500 men and women found that those who slept more than nine hours per night were 70 percent more likely to die over the course of 14 years than those who slept seven to eight hours. And those who slept six hours or less per night were 50 percent more likely to die over the 14 years.
And the second study, which looked at data on more than 71,000 women, found that those who slept five or less hours per night were 39 percent more likely to have a fatal or non-fatal heart attack during 10 years of follow-up than those who slept eight hours. The risk was increased 37 percent among those who slept more than nine hours.