Under/Oversleeping Shortens Your Life Span

We’ve all had those days when we slept in too late, or for one reason or another couldn’t get any sleep. And I’m sure you all know the feeling of being groggy and tired after sleeping too little (or even sleeping too much). If these patterns are repeated over time, just how detrimental can they be?

Here are some facts about how disrupted sleep affects our bodies:

• Sleep loss quadruples risk of stroke
• Sleep loss increases risk of obesity and diabetes
• Under/oversleeping (less than 6 or more than 9 hours) increases risk of coronary heart disease
• Under/oversleeping increases risk of hypertension, cardiovascular disease

If sleep can affect so many things in our bodies, what about our overall life expectancy?

Data from three large cross-sectional epidemiological studies reveal that sleeping five hours or less per night increased mortality risk from all causes by roughly 15 percent. (Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School, 2007)

A meta-study published in Sleep which synthesized 16 studies on sleep from five different continents with over 1.5 million participants concluded that there was “unequivocal evidence” that less than 6 or more than 9 hours of sleep per night had a direct link with early death.

Of the 100,000 deaths recorded, participants were 12% more likely to die over a period of 25 years or less than those who got the recommended six to eight hours of sleep.

Why is sleep so important to us?

During our various sleep cycles, our bodies repair and regulate their selves, secreting hormones, metabolizing energy, and processing glucose. When we sleep too little or too much, we disrupt these cycles and the balance of the regulating processes and hormones.

Two examples of these hormones are cortisol (the “stress” hormone) and insulin (glucose regulating hormones). Poor sleep results in increased cortisol production, which wears the body’s immune system down and causes elevated heart rate and blood pressure. Increased insulin production after consuming food will promote excess fat storage.

Increased insulin levels over time can put one at high risk for diabetes, and increased cortisol production can lead to hypertension and heart disease.

Even one night of disrupted sleep can cause elevated blood pressure the following day.

For example, one study found that sleeping too little (less than six hours) or too much (more than nine hours) increased the risk of coronary heart disease in women. (Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School, 2007)

This constant “high alert” state that the body is placed in (particularly from excess cortisol production) has detrimental long-term effects on us.

Based on our findings, we believe that if you lose sleep that your body needs, then you produce these inflammatory markers that on a chronic basis can create low-grade inflammation and predispose you to cardiovascular events and a shorter life span. (as cited by Stein, 2005)

From all of these physical side effects, some of which occur just after one night of disrupted sleep, it’s no surprise that over time, life span is shortened.

Too little or too much of anything is bad, and sleep is no exception.

So get a good night’s sleep tonight! (But try not to sleep too much, either.)

References

[Photograph]. Retrieved from http://www.zsnooze.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/obstructive-sleep-apnea.jpg

Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School. (2007, December 18). Sleep and disease risk. Retrieved from http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/consequences/sleep-and-disease-risk

Haiken, M. (2012, July 5). How stress and sleep loss are shortening your life. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2012/07/05/how-stress-and-sleep-loss-are-shortening-your-life/#2715e4857a0b3254120e6e3a

Hublin, C., Partinen, M., Koskenvuo, M., & Kaprio, J. (2007). Sleep and mortality: a population-based 22-year follow-up study. Sleep, 30(10), 1245–1253. Retrieved from http://journalsleep.org/

Patel, S. R., Ayas, N. T., Malhotra, M. R., White, D. P., Schernhammer, E. S., Speizer, F. E., … Hu, F. B. (2004). A prospective study of sleep duration and mortality risk in women.Sleep, 27(3), 440-444. doi:10.5665/sleep.1594

Sigurdson, K., & Ayas, N. T. (2007). The public health and safety consequences of sleep disorders. Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology, 85(1), 179-183. doi: 10.1139/y06-095

Stein, R. (2005, October 9). Scientists finding out what losing sleep does to a body. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/08/AR2005100801405.html

Too little (and too much) sleep can increase risk of premature death, scientists reveal. (2010, May 5). Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1272623/Lack-sleep-linked-early-death-scientists-reveal.html

Why lack of sleep is bad for your health. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/tiredness-and-fatigue/Pages/lack-of-sleep-health-risks.aspx

Edited by: Zoe