A new study shows that for a long and healthy life, a regular sleep routine is more important than the actual length of time you sleep each night. In other words, it’s better to sleep 6 hours every night on a regular schedule than to sleep 8 hours with a very irregular schedule.
The main findings of the study were as follows:
- More regular sleep was associated with a 20-48% lower risk of overall mortality, a 16–39% lower risk of cancer-related mortality, and a 22–57% lower risk of cardiovascular mortality.
- Irregular sleep was more strongly linked to increased mortality than lack of sleep length.
Sleep guru Matthew Walker:
“We’ve been missing maybe half of the story…. Not just how much you sleep but the regularity with which you sleep has now come onto the map and exploded as perhaps the more important thing.”
In addition to regular sleep routines and the classic sleep advice that most people already know, the most important thing you can do for good sleep quality is to treat any potential sleep apnea. Sleep apnea means unconscious breathing pauses during sleep, and is harmful to health because apneas increase the risk of stroke, heart attack, diabetes, dementia — and of course tiredness. Nine out of ten people who suffer from sleep apnea are unaware that they have the problem. Around 30% of men and 20% of women in middle age have some degree of sleep apnea.
