Sleeping For 5 Hours Or Less Raises Your Chance Of Developing Chronic Illnesses

Oct, 2022 - By WMR

An increased risk of being identified with several chronic diseases is linked to receiving just five hours of sleep each night or less, according to a recent study that used data collected over a 25-year period.

In comparison to persons who slept around seven hours a night, those who reported frequently receiving five hours of sleep or less at age 50 were 40% more likely to have been diagnosed with two or more chronic conditions over the previous 25 years.

In a news statement, the study's principal author, Severine Sabia, of University College London's Institute of Epidemiology and Health, stated that "as people age, their sleep patterns and sleep structure change."

However, regardless of age, obtaining seven to eight hours each night is still advised.

Sabia observed that prior studies have revealed that sleep lengths above or below this advised range may be linked to particular chronic conditions.

Separate American research, released last week, revealed that Americans frequently experience poor sleep and have a greater incidence of heart disease risk factors.

Researchers claim that what Sabia and her colleagues discovered supports their hypothesis that there is a link between getting less sleep and the likelihood of acquiring a number of chronic diseases.

Sabia stated that "our data demonstrate that short sleep duration is also connected with multimorbidity."

Multimorbidity is simply the presence of two or more chronic illnesses concurrently. As we become older, the likelihood of it increases, but experts are concerned since it seems to be increasing in some areas.

In high-income nations, multimorbidity is on the rise, and more than half of older persons now have at least two chronic conditions, according to Sabia. Given that multimorbidity is linked to a high need for health care services, this is proving to be a significant burden for public health.