Good Quality Sleep Can Add Years To People's Lives, Study Suggests (theguardian.com) 51
It is no mystery that a good night's sleep and a lie-in can improve your day. But researchers are suggesting that, far from just being enjoyable, quality sleep may even add years to people's lives. From a report: Men who regularly sleep well could live almost five years longer than those who do not, while women could benefit by two years, research suggests. And they could also enjoy better health during their lives. Researchers found that young people who had better sleep habits were less likely to die early. But the researchers said their findings indicated quantity of sleep was not in itself enough to achieve the possible health benefits -- quality of sleep is also important. Good sleep was based on five different factors: ideal sleep duration of seven to eight hours a night; difficulty falling asleep no more than two times a week; trouble staying asleep no more than two times a week; not using any sleep medication; and feeling well rested after waking up at least five days a week. The findings suggested that about 8% of deaths from any cause could be attributed to poor sleep patterns. The researchers included data from 172,321 people with an average age of 50, 54% of whom were women, who participated in the National Health Interview Survey between 2013 and 2018. The survey looked at the health of the US population and included questions about sleep and sleep habits.
Great, what about the opposite? (Score:1)
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Seems like since I hit my 40's having a good night's sleep is maybe a 1 in 10 experience.
Sleep is something that I used to take for granted. Now I have to do everything exactly right otherwise its going to be yet another early AM wake up.
Some notes (Score:2)
Seems like since I hit my 40's having a good night's sleep is maybe a 1 in 10 experience.
Sleep is something that I used to take for granted. Now I have to do everything exactly right otherwise its going to be yet another early AM wake up.
Your body sets circadian rhythms based on the quantity of blue light coming in through the upper part of your visual field. This is sensed by special blue-sensitive cells that are not rods or cones, so it's a separate signal from visual processing.
The sensitivity to this signal goes down as we age, we lose something like 90% of this sense ability by age 60. Also RGB monitors emit tons of blue light, so looking at a monitor until you go to bed confuses that system - apparently by a lot.
Wear a pair of red las
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Correlation isn't causation... Perhaps, instead of bad sleep causing a shorter life, it could be the other way around: healthy people (who live longer) tend to have less trouble sleeping? Or maybe some other healthy stuff they're doing (exercise, lack of stress,...) causes them to live longer AND sleep better?
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Wear a pair of red paser goggles an hour a day? You are joking, right? That is an hour wasted every day doing nothing looking like some weird alien from Star Trek. I would take one year off life any day.
1 hour is 6% of my 16 waking hours. 6% of a 75 year life is 4 years of red goggleness. Nyet.
Best ways to measure sleep? (Score:1)
Who are you talking to? Do I smell another nameless FP brain fart?
Anyway, the topic is of sustained interest to me. I started collecting my personal data many years ago, though most of the oldest data got lost. Also read a number of books on the topic and even consulted some physicians who specialize in various forms of "sleep medicine". (Usually that means sleep apnea, but that was ruled out long ago in my case.) (Books? How droll. At this point I doubt anyone around here wants a citation...)
On one side, I
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I don't know about your particular child's medical conditions, but in general being in sports or a physical activity program makes a child sleep sounder, quicker to fall asleep, and less likely to wake you up at odd hours. Children need physical activities to "get the wiggles out". Helps with their school concentration also.
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It isn't like our bodies has a timer, which if we do or don't do a thing it will notch off seconds off our total life span. Our body can heal and recover over time,
Lets say you are lead foot as a driver, probability would have you at a higher chance at getting into a serious accident, However a lot of people who have that behaviors can live their life without ever getting into a accident, or at least a serious one. As well every-time you decide to go faster it doesn't mean your risk of an accident will
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It's not often that I think a Mod-Up isn't enough for a good post. You sir (or madam) win my admiration for the day. It is sad that you had to do it as Anonymous in this day and age. But then again maybe Anonymous Coward will turn into a long-term survival trait.
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Yeah, I'm with you there.
I stopped getting good sleep in 2011, as I was the primary caregiver for my terminally ill wife, and haven't slept well since.
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I live somewhere noisy. Not on the day I moved in but soon enough. Used to be near a minimall with line of sight to my bedroom window. First few years there were deliver trucks left there idling most of the night. Then that store closed and was replace so it was better. The last 10 or so there's been a city recycling center, and apparently they only use the noisy trash compactor late at night so that it doesn't disturb people when they're actually awake! So twenty years of wearing ear plugs every nigh
What about old people? (Score:3)
I know it's not nearly as scientifically rigid, but would be interested to poll the extremely elderly (say, 80+) who are still healthy and active, and see what their sleep patterns are like. I'd wager nearly all sleep pretty well.
Any /. users in that range? ;) Or know anyone and want to ask?
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Is that because all the bad sleepers die prior to age 80?
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Don't worry, all the good sleepers will die past age 80. /s Oh wait ...
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I know it's not nearly as scientifically rigid, but would be interested to poll the extremely elderly (say, 80+) who are still healthy and active, and see what their sleep patterns are like. I'd wager nearly all sleep pretty well.
Any /. users in that range? ;) Or know anyone and want to ask?
A quick scan of articles on how to reach 100 years of age all have [health.com] common items [geisinger.org]. Namely, moderate exercise, eating coloful foods, and plenty of sleep (7 - 8 hours a night). So yes, getting sleep absolutely helps.
Another story I came across suggested a 30-minute nap [thehealthy.com] in the middle of the day might help substantially lower your chances of dying from heart disease.
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eating coloful foods
They're all after me Lucky Charms! Though the article just says blueberries and grapes.
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I eat lots of Smarties and M&Ms. Does that count?
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Interesting question and I hope I get there...
What the literature says (roughly from memory) is that infants sleep a lot, but eventually establish fairly regular schedules. Young children want and should get plenty of sleep, too. Around puberty they tend to shift to a night-owl schedule of going to bed near or even after midnight and sleeping late in the mornings, which usually conflicts with the demands of schools. Then as adults they shift to the eight-hour thing, starting at dusk. Older people tend to ha
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I suspect the secret is napping. I don't nap much, except when I don't want to (I'll just pause this movie and close my eyes for a second because I can't focus, then two hours later I'm back with an awful crick in my neck). Easier for those sorts of daytime naps though when you're retired...
But does it really... (Score:4, Interesting)
Maybe you would technically live more years, but would you really be taking advantage of being alive considering you lose a few hours hour every day you would have been awake instead of going to sleep earlier? ;-)
Re: But does it really... (Score:5, Interesting)
This is likely an interesting question. Paul Erdos used amphetamine a lot of his late career and it's effectively his most productive period of his life. Fair to assume there was less sleep during this period too. He died at 83 which isn't bad really. So I mean the question of how long you want to live and the trade-offs is a complex issue.
On a lesser note, the metabolism slows during sleep and we already know eating less can extend life... so how much of this relates to metabolism instead of some "magic" to sleep itself. That seems to require further study.
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Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)
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I do a lot of thinking in my dreams. The experiences of my dreams bring inspiration to new solutions in life.
Interesting, I think if that were true for me I would feel the same, but I don't have much memory of my sleeping time and so do not derive similar benefits.
Now maybe if I had more sleep I would start to see that...
Re:But does it really... (Score:5, Interesting)
You are assuming that we live our lives to the fullest every minute. From Midnight - 6:00 am not much tends to happen in your part of the world, I guess if you didn't need to sleep you can work 20 hours a day instead of 10 hours. However I usually go to sleep because I am just board with the day, and I rather be rested up to take the next day with more vigor, then trying to slog out a day tired and groggy.
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Clearly the answer is to sleep at work. :-)
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From Midnight - 6:00 am not much tends to happen in your part of the world
While that is true, some of my most productive coding has been done from midnight until morning!
I guess it depends on if you are creating, vs. looking for other things to keep you occupied.
Re: But does it really... (Score:3)
Maybe well rested people get more done in the shorter time that theyâ(TM)re awake. Chronic a leep deprivation is great for slowing you down, making you make mistakes or just being less observant or capable of absorbing things.
We learned this in Mom 101: (Score:5, Insightful)
- Eat your vegetables
- Exercise more
- Get a good night's sleep
- Bring a sweater with you in case
- Treat your partner with respect
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You need an anti-troll booster.
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Rubber boots or the other kind of rubber? In Minnesota I imagine boot warnings are common; it's often wet or snowy there.
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Yes, the double entendre was intentional.
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I guess I'm screwed. (Score:4, Interesting)
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Same. Frak it. I don't want to live that long anyways!
Best thing about retirement (Score:2)
No more waking up to an alarm clock (except on rare occasions). I sleep till I wake up naturally. Hope it is not too late to help.
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No (Score:2)
Not if you are driving in the left lane.
Well it didn't work (Score:2)
Correlation != Causation (Score:1)
Great! Something else to keep me awake at night! (Score:2)
I worry I don't get enough sleep already. I don't need this....