If you look forward to the weekend to stay in bed longer, now you will be happier, because science supports that such a thing is a solution to extend your life.
Can your sleeping habits affect your lifespan?
If you sleep too much, or not enough, the risk of fatality increases significantly. This may be the result of sleep's impact on general health, or it may be a consequence of other diseases that influence longevity and sleep duration.
Sleep duration and lifespan:
In one study, scientists observed more than 21,000 twins for more than 22 years. They were asked questions about their sleeping habits and observed their life expectancy.
Twins are excellent research subjects because most of them have been raised in the same environment and have the same genetic makeup. For this reason, scientists can isolate the impact of a behavior (such as in this case, getting more sleep) on an outcome (in this case, longevity).
Participants were asked questions at the beginning of the study and after 22 years. Relative questions on sleep duration, sleep medication use, and sleep quality. What they found was that people who slept less than seven hours, or more than eight hours a night, had a 17-24% increased risk of death. The use of sleep medications increased the risk of mortality by almost 1 third.
This study shows that the weak point for sleep duration is seven or eight hours, that is, the sufficient sleep time that a person needs. However, the need for sleep can vary from person to person.
Increased risk for different sleep durations may be the reason for more or less sleep, but it may also be that a certain factor can cause sleep changes and risk changes.
For example, if someone has heart disease, that disease can change how and how long a person sleeps and the risk of fatality.
Side effects of sleep deprivation:
Getting enough sleep and rest can improve your overall health and even help you live longer.
Conversely, not getting enough sleep can have detrimental effects on health and longevity.
Research suggests that regularly sleeping less than seven hours a night can have negative effects on the cardiovascular, endocrine, immune and nervous systems.
Side effects of sleep deprivation can include obesity, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, anxiety, depression and alcohol abuse.