What is the impact of sleep on life expectancy?

[Ivan Seeking]

1. Don't oversleep

Here's a reason not to hit the snooze button anymore: Sleeping too much can reduce life expectancy, according to a February 2002 study in the Archives of General Psychiatry. The study found that people who sleep more than eight hours per night had a significantly higher death rate than normal. But late-night-party-goers shouldn't rejoice: researches say that sleeping less than four hours also increases death rates. People who sleep between six and seven hours per night were shown to live the longest.[continued]

http://www.forbes.com/2006/04/28/cx_vg_0501featslide2.html?thisSpeed=6000

 

[wolram]

According to the mr averages law we will all have 2.4 children

 

[Physics Nut]

First, even if the study is correct, it does not prove that there is a casual connection between sleep and death rate. Second, why would you want to live longer anyway? It's not very glamorous to die in your bed at ninety.

 

[Curious3141]

If I can't sleep as much, why the hell would I want to live any longer ?

 

[wolram]

If I can't sleep as much, why the hell would I want to live any longer ?

Oh , come on we all know the world will end without you

 

[Rach3]

First, even if the study is correct, it does not prove that there is a casual connection between sleep and death rate. Second, why would you want to live longer anyway? It's not very glamorous to die in your bed at ninety.

I don't see why a "glamorous death" is so fashionable these days. Maybe it's all these Hollywood action movies, with their machine guns and explosions and whatnot. Perverse.

 

[Mk]

We really have no idea what sleep has to do with death. Except if you don't sleep for months you die, and rats deprived of REM sleep die after ~28 days. Its totally inhumane to see how long it takes people to die from lack of sleep, if they do at all.

I suspect that forbes thing is a load of BS, I hope it doesn't say drink green tea and red wine, or laugh more/be optimistic, or to have pets, or to have more sex in hope of living longer.

 

[selfAdjoint]

First, even if the study is correct, it does not prove that there is a casual connection between sleep and death rate. Second, why would you want to live longer anyway? It's not very glamorous to die in your bed at ninety.

It sure beats dying in your bed at seventy! When you get past forty glamor, as a desideratum of life, sort of loses its -- glamor:!)

 

[Moonbear]

Is that all on average? So, if I already experienced plenty of sleep-deprivation early in life, I can sleep all day when I retire, right?

Snooze button? If I can get more than 8 hours of sleep at night, I don't have an alarm set!

I can't say I really buy that as a causative factor though, but more likely the other way around. If you're unhealthy already, your body may regularly need more than 8 hours of sleep a day, and I doubt that depriving yourself of that additional sleep is going to improve that underlying condition (unless it's associated with other unhealthy habits, like not getting enough exercise or proper nutrition and generally being lazy).

 

[mattmns]

I slept 8 or 9 hours last night, it was great! I normally get about 6-7hrs a night when I have school the next day.

 

[dav2008]

How is "Stop Smoking" number 7 while "Don't oversleep" is number 1?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

They're not in any particular order?

IIRC, stress can be about as bad as smoking.

 

[dav2008]

Oh good point. I assumed they were listing the top 15 ways to live longer. Under closer inspection there is no mention of the word "top".

 

[cronxeh]

no age groups, no gender difference, no race difference, nothing?

what kinda statistical analysis did those shrinks use? algebra-based??



doctors and math don't mix well

 

[Physics Nut]

It sure beats dying in your bed at seventy! When you get past forty glamor, as a desideratum of life, sort of loses its -- glamor:!)

Then maybe we shouldn't get past forty?

 

[franznietzsche]

None of this matters, I'll die in a vast fireball before I'm 30 anyway

Oh wait...thats not a good thing?

Damn.

On a side note, I managed to get through two rocket test fires without blowing myself up today. Despite an oxidizer leak at the first one.

 

[Cyrus]

Why do you want to make rocket motors?

 

[Schrodinger's Dog]

Sleeping too little also has effects on life expectancy, with increased risks of diabetes and obesity and the obvious implications of both. try and get your 8 hours or whatever it is you need, you really will live longer.

Oh and shift workers: long term studies done on triple shift workers have found that average life expectancy can be reduced by as much as 3-5 years. Those doing some double shifts such as day and night particularly do not fair well either with a few years lost, although considerably better than the rotating 8 hr triple shifters. I'll fish out the article and the long term study if anyones interested.