Sleeping for less than five hours later in your life can cause you to develop chronic health issues, according to a new study.
Researchers at University College London looked at how sleep duration affected the health of more than 7,000 men and women at the ages of 50, 60 and 70 by seeing whether they had been diagnosed with two or more chronic diseases over a 25-year period.
The peer-reviewed study was published last week in PLOS Medicine, a health journal. The Public Library of Science is a nonprofit publisher.
Chronic diseases tracked by the study included diabetes, stroke, cancer coronary heart disease, heart failure, pulmonary disease, kidney disease, liver disease, arthritis, Parkinson’s disease, dementia, depression, and other mental disorders.
The study found that those who got five hours of sleep or less at 50 were 20% more likely to develop a chronic disease compared to those who slept for up to seven hours.
When looking at people who were 70 years old, they were 40% more likely to develop two or more chronic diseases when compared to their more well-rested cohorts.
Overall, people who slept less were linked to a 30%-40% increased risk of suffering from multiple chronic diseases.
“As people get older, their sleep habits and sleep structure change,” Dr. Severine Sabia, the lead author from UCL’s Institute of Epidemiology & Health, said in a press release. “However, it is recommended to sleep for 7 to 8 hours a night — as sleep durations above or below this have previously been associated with individual chronic diseases.”
The study did note some limitations, such as the data being self-reported and vulnerable to bias. Data also only came from members of the U.K.’s civil service, which researchers said tend to be healthier than the average population.
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