Several chronic illnesses may be more likely to develop in those over 50 who get five hours or less of sleep each night, according a recent study published on October 18, according to a study.
The 25-year period of the peer-reviewed study, which was released in the journal PLOS Medicine, involved 8,000 British public officials who were healthy at age 50. Every four to five years throughout that period, study researchers asked each participant to describe how much sleep they had for monitoring purposes.
The study's findings showed that people who slept five hours or less had a 30% higher chance of developing chronic diseases than people who slept at least seven hours. By the age of 70, there was a 40% increased risk for those who slept for fewer than five hours each night.
According to Severine Sabia, a researcher at the University College London's Institute of Epidemiology and Health and the study's principal author, "As people age, their sleep patterns and sleep structure change."
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Diabetes, cancer, coronary heart disease, stroke, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic kidney disease, liver disease, depression, dementia, mental disorders, Parkinson's, and arthritis were among the chronic illnesses monitored in the study.
The authors of the study concluded that "short sleep duration in midlife and old age is related with increased risk of emergence of chronic illness and multimorbidity." These results "support the promotion of excellent sleep hygiene on both primary and secondary prevention by targeting behavioural and environmental variables that impact the quantity and quality of sleep."
