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During sleep, your body is actively engaged in numerous processes that support optimal functioning of systems like your cardiovascular health and brain performance. A new study found that disrupted or irregular daily sleep cycles are connected to various adverse health conditions, even if the total hours of sleep seem adequate.
For years, sleep experts cautioned that excessive sleep could be harmful. However, new research reveals that many people misjudge their total sleep time. To accurately measure actual sleep duration, over 90,000 individuals wore tracking devices for one week to record their sleep length. Their health outcomes were then monitored for nearly seven years.Â
In contrast to earlier studies that depended on self-reported sleep estimates from questionnaires, this research utilized accelerometer data from wrist-worn devices to accurately distinguish between periods of actual sleep and wakefulness. These devices provided highly detailed insights into sleep patterns, including sleep duration, timing, nightly schedules and sleep disruption.
Among those who reported sleeping over eight hours per night, nearly 22% were actually getting six hours or less. This data skewed previous study results, leading to inaccurate concerns about the risks of oversleeping. When researchers focused on true long sleepers, those with both self-reported and objectively verified extended sleep durations, the health risks previously associated with long sleep largely vanished.
Most strikingly, sleep rhythm proved more critical for health outcomes than sleep duration. Irregular sleep rhythms were linked to 12 diseases, making up just over 15% of associations in prior studies. Disrupted sleep may spark systemic inflammation, which in turn drives various health issues.
Current guidelines emphasize aiming for seven to nine hours of sleep per night. However, this research highlights that the timing of sleep and maintaining a consistent sleep schedule may be just as crucial for disease prevention.
To view the original scientific study click below:
Phenome-wide Analysis of Diseases in Relation to Objectively Measured Sleep Traits and Comparison with Subjective Sleep Traits in 88,461 Adults
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