Less then 8 Hours of sleep may not hurt health

A new study has just cast doubts on one of our long-held beliefs- 8 hours of sleep every night may not be good for you! According to the results of the study, those who sleep 8 or more hours a night, or less than 4 hours, run a slightly higher risk of dying a given time frame as compared to those who sleep 6 to 7 hours a night.

Researchers examined the findings of a previously conducted study, which detailed the sleeping habits of 1.1 million man and women aged between 30 to 102. The subjects were made up of friends and family members of the American Cancer Society. They were first interviewed about their diet, exercise, sleeping habits and health problems in 1982. This was followed up by another interview 6 years later in 1988.

Those who reported sleeping time of 8 or more hours, or less than 4 or 5 hours a night were 15% more likely to die within those 6 years that lapsed than those who slept 6 to 7 hours. One of the interesting facts that popped out during the course of the interview was that only 0.001% of the subjects slept less than 4 or 5 hours a night.

Other risk factors that increase the mortality rate include the use of a prescription sleeping pill. On the contrary, insomnia has been found to have no association with excess mortality.

Source: Archives of General Psychiatry February 15, 2002;59:131-136.