People who sleep less than 6 hours per night have a shorter life, according to a recent study.  After reviewing 16 studies conducted on more than 1.3 million people, a team of researchers from two universities1 found that people who sleep for less than the recommended 6-8 hours each night have a 12% higher risk of dying prematurely.

Previous research showed that sleep deprivation may be associated with heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol level.

The study also showed that consistent over long sleeping can be a cause for concern. Sleeping for over 9 hours a night can be an indicator of ill-health and a significant marker of an underlying serious and potentially fatal illness.

“Consistently sleeping 6 to 8 hours per night may be optimal for health. The duration of sleep should be regarded as an additional behavioural risk factor, or risk marker, influenced by the environment and possibly amenable to change through both education and counselling as well as through measures of public health aimed at favourable modifications of the physical and working environments “ said Professor Francesco Cappuccio²⁾.

¹⁾ The University of Warwick in collaboration with the Federico II University Medical School in Naples, Italy
²⁾ Professor Francesco Cappuccio – leader of the Sleep, Health and Society Programme at the University of Warwick and Consultant Physician at the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust