Good sleep is important for our health. In a study, researchers at Harvard University defined sleep factors for good sleep quality.
Berlin – Good sleep is important for health. In Germany alone, numerous people suffer from sleep disorders. Poor sleep not only has a negative effect on the current daily form, but can also reduce life expectancy. Researchers from Harvard University have in one long-term study found out that a certain quality of sleep can add years to the lives of women and men.
But what actually constitutes good sleep quality? The researchers from the USA were able to determine this precisely. The following five factors are therefore important for good sleep quality:
- ideal sleep duration: seven to eight hours per night
- Difficulty falling asleep: less than twice a week
- Insomnia: at most twice a week
- no sleeping pills
- wake up feeling well rested at least five days a week
Study from the USA: People who sleep well live longer
In the study, researchers from Harvard University analyzed data from 172,321 people. The average age of the participants was 50 years, 54 percent of the participants were female. Said individuals took part in the US National Health Interview Survey between 2013 and 2018. The survey is conducted annually by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to assess the health of the population.
The study found that young people with better sleeping habits were increasingly less likely to die early. Additionally, the data suggests that regarding 8 percent of all-cause deaths can be attributed to poor sleep patterns. According to the study results, participants in the study who fulfilled the five factors mentioned above for good sleep quality and thus sleep well had a significantly higher life expectancy.
| Women | 2.4 years longer life expectancy |
| Men | 4.7 years longer life expectancy |
| Quelle: American College of Cardiology (ACC) |
Good sleep increases life expectancy: Not only the duration of sleep is important
More research is needed to find out why men with all five low-risk sleep factors lived twice as long as women with the same quality of sleep. The researchers were also able to see a connection to good sleep quality with regard to illnesses. People who sleep well have a 21 percent lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.
“I think these results underscore that just getting enough hours of sleep isn’t enough. You really need to have a restful sleep and have no trouble falling asleep or staying asleep,” said Frank Qian, one of the authors of the study. “If people have all of these ideal sleep patterns, they will be more likely to live longer,” Qian said. (hg)
