In the case of sleep, the following applies: More is not always more. This is the result of a global, long-term sleep study, in which the sleep of 117.000 subjects from 21 countries were examined.
The aim of the researchers, Dr. Chuangshi Wang of McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, was to identify a relationship between duration of sleep and certain health problems and premature deaths. The results were published in the ‘European Heart Journal’.
What is the optimal duration of sleep?
The scientists agree: Who gets at night between six and eight hours of sleep, as a rule, belongs to the people with the healthiest lifestyles and the fewest health problems. Variations above or below indicate, however, often serious diseases.
Almost eight years, the volunteers around the globe were asked about their duration of sleep, your lifestyle and your health condition. At the beginning of the participants, on average, 50 years old. Here is a picture showing the same tendencies.
Long sleeper short sleeper
Who slept longer than the recommended eight hours, was generally older, depressed, physically less active and tended increasingly to alcohol or nicotine consumption.
In addition, these subjects suffered more from hypertension, and the lung disease COPD. In the case of short sleepers, however, Diabetesund Overweight were reinforced. Interesting: Among those who slept less than six hours, there were a remarkable number of urban residents.
Deaths, Heart Attacks, Accidents
At the end of the study, of 4,400 participants had died, a similar number had suffered either a stroke or a heart attack. Particularly, the long sleepers were a big part of the deaths and cardiovascular events, they were at the front.
In the case of the short sleepers, however, accidents occurred more frequently — a sure sign that these participants really need more sleep, but not always received.
The researchers acknowledge, however, that there are certainly people who get by with little sleep, and thus is completely healthy: your natural needs are easily covered with less.
In summary: lack of sleep is unhealthy, while people with increased need for sleep are often unhealthy. In the case of significant deviations from the six-to eight-hour Norm over a long period of time, it may be helpful to consult a physician, if only to previously undetected health problems.
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