Getting good sleep could add years to your life
Having five low-risk sleep habits may have long-term benefits

Date:
February 24, 2023
Source:
American College of Cardiology
Summary:
Getting good sleep can play a role in supporting your heart and
overall health -- and maybe even how long you live -- according
to new research.


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FULL STORY ========================================================================== Getting good sleep can play a role in supporting your heart and overall
health- -and maybe even how long you live--according to new research
being presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session Together With the World Congress of Cardiology. The study found
that young people who have more beneficial sleep habits are incrementally
less likely to die early.

Moreover, the data suggest that about 8% of deaths from any cause could
be attributed to poor sleep patterns.


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"We saw a clear dose-response relationship, so the more beneficial
factors someone has in terms of having higher quality of sleep, they also
have a stepwise lowering of all cause and cardiovascular mortality,"
said Frank Qian, MD, an internal medicine resident physician at Beth
Israel Deaconess Medical Center, clinical fellow in medicine at Harvard
Medical School and co- author of the study. "I think these findings
emphasize that just getting enough hours of sleep isn't sufficient. You
really have to have restful sleep and not have much trouble falling
and staying asleep." For their analysis, Qian and team included data
from 172,321 people (average age 50 and 54% women) who participated in
the National Health Interview Survey between 2013 and 2018. This survey
is fielded each year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) and the National Center for Health Statistics to help gauge the
health of the U.S. population and includes questions about sleep and
sleep habits. Qian said this is the first study to his knowledge to
use a nationally representative population to look at how several sleep behaviors, and not just sleep duration, might influence life expectancy.

About two-thirds of study participants self-reported as being White,
14.5% Hispanic, 12.6% Black and 5.5% Asian. Because researchers
were able to link participants to the National Death Index records
(through December 31, 2019), they could examine the association between individual and combined sleep factors and all-cause and cause-specific mortality. Participants were followed for a median of 4.3 years during
which time 8,681 individuals died. Of these deaths, 2,610 deaths (30%)
were from cardiovascular disease, 2,052 (24%) were from cancer and 4,019
(46%) were due to other causes.

Researchers assessed ?ve different factors of quality sleep using a
low-risk sleep score they created based on answers collected as part of
the survey.

Factors included: 1) ideal sleep duration of seven to eight hours a
night; 2) difficulty falling asleep no more than two times a week; 3)
trouble staying asleep no more than two times a week; 4) not using any
sleep medication; and 5) feeling well rested after waking up at least
five days a week. Each factor was assigned zero or one point for each,
for a maximum of five points, which indicated the highest quality sleep.

"If people have all these ideal sleep behaviors, they are more likely
to live longer," Qian said. "So, if we can improve sleep overall, and identifying sleep disorders is especially important, we may be able to
prevent some of this premature mortality." For the analysis, researchers controlled for other factors that may have heightened the risk of dying, including lower socioeconomic status, smoking and alcohol consumption
and other medical conditions. Compared to individuals who had zero to one favorable sleep factors, those who had all five were 30% less likely to
die for any reason, 21% less likely to die from cardiovascular disease,
19% less likely to die from cancer, and 40% less likely to die of causes
other than heart disease or cancer. Qian said these other deaths are
likely due to accidents, infections or neurodegenerative diseases,
such as dementia and Parkinson's disease, but more research is needed.

Among men and women who reported having all five quality sleep measures
(a score of five), life expectancy was 4.7 years greater for men and 2.4
years greater for women compared with those who had none or only one of
the five favorable elements of low-risk sleep. More research is needed
to determine why men with all five low-risk sleep factors had double
the increase in life expectancy compared with women who had the same
quality sleep.

"Even from a young age, if people can develop these good sleep habits
of getting enough sleep, making sure they are sleeping without too many distractions and have good sleep hygiene overall, it can greatly benefit
their overall long-term health," Qian said, adding that for the present analysis they estimated gains in life expectancy starting at age 30,
but the model can be used to predict gains at older ages too. "It's
important for younger people to understand that a lot of health behaviors
are cumulative over time. Just like we like to say, `it's never too late
to exercise or stop smoking,' it's also never too early. And we should be talking about and assessing sleep more often." These sleep habits can
be easily asked about during clinical encounters, and the researchers
hope patients and clinicians will start talking about sleep as part of
their overall health assessment and disease management planning.

One limitation of the study is that sleep habits were self-reported and
not objectively measured or verified. In addition, no information was
available about the types of sleep aid or medicine used or how often or
long participants used them. Future research is needed to understand how
these gains in life expectancy might continue as people age, as well as
further explore the sex differences that were observed.

Previous studies have shown that getting too little or too much sleep can negatively affect the heart. It's also been widely reported that sleep
apnea, a sleep disorder that causes someone to pause or stop breathing
while asleep, can lead to a number of heart conditions, including high
blood pressure, atrial fibrillation and heart attacks.

Qian will present the study, "Low-risk Sleep Patterns, Mortality, and Life Expectancy at Age 30 Years: A Prospective Study of 172,321 U.S. Adults,"
on Monday, March 6, at 12:45 p.m. CT / 18:45 UTC in Prevention and Health Promotion Moderated Poster Theater 10, Hall F.

ACC.23/WCCwill take place March 4-6, 2023, in New Orleans, bringing
together cardiologists and cardiovascular specialists from around the
world to share the newest discoveries in treatment and prevention. Follow @ACCinTouch, @ACCMediaCenter and #ACC23/#WCCardio for the latest news
from the meeting.

The American College of Cardiology (ACC)is the global leader in
transforming cardiovascular care and improving heart health for
all. As the preeminent source of professional medical education
for the entire cardiovascular care team since 1949, ACC credentials cardiovascular professionals in over 140 countries who meet stringent qualifications and leads in the formation of health policy, standards
and guidelines. Through its world-renowned family of JACC Journals, NCDR registries, ACC Accreditation Services, global network of Member Sections, CardioSmart patient resources and more, the College is committed to
ensuring a world where science, knowledge and innovation optimize patient
care and outcomes. Learn more at ACC.org, ### Media_Contacts Nicole
Napoli Thy-Ann Nguyen 202.669.1465 703.638.2938 nnapoli@acc.org thyann.nguyen@curastrategies.com
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========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by American_College_of_Cardiology. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


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Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/02/230224135111.htm

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