If you happen to be a poor sleeper, we’ve got bad news for you… it could be shortening your life in the long run.
Everyone knows the ideal amount of sleep to get is eight hours per night, but in reality, getting that much shut-eye seven days a week can be quite difficult.
From bingeing Netflix, scrolling on your phone, or just worrying or stressing about your day, many things can affect the quality of sleep you get, but getting too little can have serious implications on your health.
Doctor Dan Friedrich has revealed that getting too little sleep consistently can actually end up shortening your life.
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Taking to TikTok, he told his followers: “If you think that you can survive on only four to five hours of sleep every night, you’re going to have an early death.”
So far, so terrifying – but it turns out that sleeping an excessive amount can also not be great for you either.
He continued: “And so studies have shown again and again that the optimal amount of sleep is between six and eight hours a night, preferably at least seven.
“If you go more than nine hours it’s also bad for your health, but sleeping less than five is the worst thing you could possibly be doing.
“Increased mortality all across the board, cardiovascular disease, all types of diseases are associated with sleeping that little.”
Studies have shown that chronically undersleeping can be seriously bad for you, with older people that sleep less than five hours a night having their chances of premature death being increased by a quarter.
Research by University College London, which studied 7,864 people over the age of 50 in the UK, found that older people are far more likely to experience long-term health conditions if they sleep too little per night.
Lead author Dr Severine Sabia explained: “Multimorbidity is on the rise in high-income countries and more than half of older adults now have at least two chronic diseases. This is proving to be a major challenge for public health, as multimorbidity is associated with high healthcare service use, hospitalizations and disability.”
Getting enough shut-eye is crucial for a long life. Credit: Getty
Sabia added that sleep habits and sleep structure change as a person ages, revealing: “Our findings show that short sleep duration is also associated with multimorbidity.”
She also shared tips to help increase the duration and quality of sleep – and hopefully also your lifespan in the process – explaining: “To ensure a better night’s sleep, it is important to promote good sleep hygiene, such as making sure the bedroom is quiet, dark and a comfortable temperature before sleeping.
“It’s also advised to remove electronic devices and avoid large meals before bedtime. Physical activity and exposure to light during the day might also promote good sleep.”
We think we’ll be skipping the late-night TikTok binges from now on…
