Many sleep articles reference short, mid and long-term issues realting to poor sleep, what about longevity? How much can we improve our lifespan by getting some quality shut-eye?
A 2023 US study, Li et Al, rated people's sleep on the following 5 factors:
Ideal sleep duration of 7 to 8 hours per night
Difficulty falling asleep no more than 2 times per week
Trouble staying asleep no more than 2 times per week
Not using any sleep medication
Feeling well rested after waking up, at least 5 days per week
Those who succeeded at all 5 elements had a life expectancy of 4.7 years greater for men and 2.4 years greater for women, compared to those who had none or only 1 of the 5 favourable elements of low-risk sleep.
In a 2020 Singapore study, 71% of the working adults in the research cohort had at least either poor sleep quality or short duration sleep. Should this be a cause for concern, certainly. However, the story does not have to be negative:
Healthy, quality sleep can be improved with a few daily habits.
Much depends on properly understanding your own, unique lifestyle. With a goal of improving sleep duration, common practices include improving sleep hygiene and having better consistency in getting to bed. Exercise and diet also play a role. It can take time to develop these skills and requires a personalised plan, unique to the individual. What works for your fiend or colleague might not work for you. This where coaching plays its role in supporting health.
Melatonin, a sleep supplement, is increasingly used by the public to support sleep. While generally considered safe to use, there is unfortunately an abundance of melatonin supplements on the market that do not contain the ingredients or quantities stated on the label, either in the quantity or if any at all. At the best a waste of money, at worse potentially harmful.
As ever, please talk to your doctor, or medical practitioner most familiar with your medical history before implementing any changes in diet, exercise or lifestyle; especially if you are under treatment. We provide links to relevant studies at bottom of page.
One important point that the research demonstrates is that sleep is intertwined with multiple aspects of health and lifestyle. So addressing and improving one area of health can also support change - improvement - in other areas. Understanding where to start is useful, learn more about the pillars of health and see what resonates with you.
Stay Healthy
Alastair
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Related Studies
The study in question... Li H, Qian F, Han L, Feng W, Zheng D, Guo X, Zhang H. Association of Healthy Sleep Patterns with Risk of Mortality and Life Expectancy at Age 30 Years: A Population-Based Cohort Study. QJM. 2023 Oct 13:hcad237. doi: 10.1093/qjmed/hcad237. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37831896.
Windred DP, Burns AC, Lane JM, Saxena R, Rutter MK, Cain SW, Phillips AJK. Sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration: A prospective cohort study. Sleep. 2024 Jan 11;47(1):zsad253. doi: 10.1093/sleep/zsad253. PMID: 37738616; PMCID: PMC10782501.
Liang YY, Feng H, Chen Y, Jin X, Xue H, Zhou M, Ma H, Ai S, Wing YK, Geng Q, Zhang J. Joint association of physical activity and sleep duration with risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality: a population-based cohort study using accelerometry. Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2023 Jul 12;30(9):832-843. doi: 10.1093/eurjpc/zwad060. PMID: 36990109.
Kocevska D, Lysen TS, Dotinga A, Koopman-Verhoeff ME, Luijk MPCM, Antypa N, Biermasz NR, Blokstra A, Brug J, Burk WJ, Comijs HC, Corpeleijn E, Dashti HS, de Bruin EJ, de Graaf R, Derks IPM, Dewald-Kaufmann JF, Elders PJM, Gemke RJBJ, Grievink L, Hale L, Hartman CA, Heijnen CJ, Huisman M, Huss A, Ikram MA, Jones SE, Velderman MK, Koning M, Meijer AM, Meijer K, Noordam R, Oldehinkel AJ, Groeniger JO, Penninx BWJH, Picavet HSJ, Pieters S, Reijneveld SA, Reitz E, Renders CM, Rodenburg G, Rutters F, Smith MC, Singh AS, Snijder MB, Stronks K, Ten Have M, Twisk JWR, Van de Mheen D, van der Ende J, van der Heijden KB, van der Velden PG, van Lenthe FJ, van Litsenburg RRL, van Oostrom SH, van Schalkwijk FJ, Sheehan CM, Verheij RA, Verhulst FC, Vermeulen MCM, Vermeulen RCH, Verschuren WMM, Vrijkotte TGM, Wijga AH, Willemen AM, Ter Wolbeek M, Wood AR, Xerxa Y, Bramer WM, Franco OH, Luik AI, Van Someren EJW, Tiemeier H. Sleep characteristics across the lifespan in 1.1 million people from the Netherlands, United Kingdom and United States: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Nat Hum Behav. 2021 Jan;5(1):113-122. doi: 10.1038/s41562-020-00965-x. Epub 2020 Nov 16. PMID: 33199855.
Erland LA, Saxena PK. Melatonin Natural Health Products and Supplements: Presence of Serotonin and Significant Variability of Melatonin Content. J Clin Sleep Med. 2017 Feb 15;13(2):275-281. doi: 10.5664/jcsm.6462. PMID: 27855744; PMCID: PMC5263083.
Singapore Studies
Svensson T, Saito E, Svensson AK, Melander O, Orho-Melander M, Mimura M, Rahman S, Sawada N, Koh WP, Shu XO, Tsuji I, Kanemura S, Park SK, Nagata C, Tsugane S, Cai H, Yuan JM, Matsuyama S, Sugawara Y, Wada K, Yoo KY, Chia KS, Boffetta P, Ahsan H, Zheng W, Kang D, Potter JD, Inoue M. Association of Sleep Duration With All- and Major-Cause Mortality Among Adults in Japan, China, Singapore, and Korea. JAMA Netw Open. 2021 Sep 1;4(9):e2122837. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.22837. PMID: 34477853; PMCID: PMC8417759.
Visvalingam N, Sathish T, Soljak M, Chua AP, Dunleavy G, Divakar U, Nazeha N, Bajpai R, Soh CK, Woon KK, Christopoulos G, Car J. Prevalence of and factors associated with poor sleep quality and short sleep in a working population in Singapore. Sleep Health. 2020 Jun;6(3):277-287. doi: 10.1016/j.sleh.2019.10.008. Epub 2019 Dec 11. PMID: 31836498.
Lee YY, Lau JH, Vaingankar JA, Sambasivam R, Shafie S, Chua BY, Chow WL, Abdin E, Subramaniam M. Sleep quality of Singapore residents: findings from the 2016 Singapore mental health study. Sleep Med X. 2022 Jan 28;4:100043. doi: 10.1016/j.sleepx.2022.100043. PMID: 35243325; PMCID: PMC8861160.
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