Sleeping less than 5 hours increases risk of chronic diseases, study reveals!

UK study has found that sleeping for less than 5 hours in mid-to-late life is associated with the risk of developing at least two chronic diseases. New research suggests that people over 50 who get less than 5 hours of sleep per night may be increasing their risks of developing multiple chronic conditions simultaneously, including diabetes, dementia, and more.

New research indicates that sleeping fewer than five hours is linked with multimorbidity in older adults. Sleeping less has previously been associated with the added risk of developing certain chronic conditions. Sleep disorders like insomnia, sleep apnea, and restless leg syndrome are common among older people. Experts suggest seeing a medical professional if your sleep quality has declined. Improving your sleep may help keep you healthier as you grow older.

Adults over the age of 50 who sleep fewer than 5 hours per night are more likely to develop multiple chronic diseases, according to a new study published in the journal PLOS Medicine. This was compared with same-age people who sleep for 7 hours. According to the lead author’s study Severine Sabia, previous studies have demonstrated a link between sleeping less and developing conditions like diabetes, blood pressure, cardiovascular like diabetes, high blood pressure, and also dementia. Sabia said that “However, in real life, chronic diseases often coexist, particularly at older ages and it also remained unclear how sleep duration was associated with risk of multimorbidity”. Multimorbidity means having two or more chronic conditions at the same time.

According to the study of Sabia and his team’s study which was done in 1985:

• At the age of 50, there were 7,864 healthy participants. Among those who reported sleeping fewer than five hours, there was a 30% greater risk of developing multiple chronic health conditions compared to the people who slept seven hours a night.
• By the age of 60, this risk had risen to 32%.
• At 70 years of age, the risk increased even more to 40%.
• Shorter sleep at the age of 50 was also associated with a 25% greater risk of dying, mostly because of the increased risk of chronic disease.

As people reached the ages of 60 and 70, the researchers found that sleeping nine hours or more was linked with higher rates of multimorbidity. However, there were only a few people this was true for, and the greater need for sleep could have been due to the illnesses themselves.

How to improve your sleep quality as grow older:

According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), there are some things which older adults can do to get better sleep. One important step is to consider whether you have a sleep disorder. They cite insomnia, snoring, sleep apnea, and movement disorders like restless legs syndrome as being the sleep problems that most commonly affect older people. Among these, they say insomnia is the most frequent sleep complaint. This can include taking a long time to fall asleep, waking up during the night, and waking up feeling tired. They note that snoring is also very common, affecting 40% of all adults.

AASM suggests that if you are often tired during the day and aren’t sleeping as well as you used to, it’s a good idea to see your primary care doctor for a checkup. They will be able to provide you with a diagnosis and offer suggestions for the management and treatment of your sleep problems.