Always Unwell? A Huge New Study Suggests It Could Be Your Sleep Schedule
A new study published in Health Data Science, analysed sleep data from 88,461 adults in the UK Biobank and found significant associations between sleep traits and 172 diseases including liver cirrhosis and gangrene
Eek.
The good news is, if you prefer to sleep for longer periods of time, you're still safe as the researchers state: 'Contrary to common belief, sleeping more than 9 hours wasn't found to be harmful when measured objectively, exposing flaws in previous research.'
The real secret to better health is you sleep
'Our findings underscore the overlooked importance of sleep regularity,' said Prof. Shengfeng Wang, senior author of the study. 'It's time we broaden our definition of good sleep beyond just duration.'
While sleep quality and duration can play a part, irregular sleeping patterns were the biggest sleep factor to disease – accounting for a startling 23% of the diseases linked to sleep.
Researchers from Vanderbilt University reported that participants in the most irregular quartile faced a 53 percent higher risk of dying over eight years, even after adjusting for age, BMI, and existing illness.
Sleeping after 12:30 a.m. was linked to a 2.57-fold higher risk of liver cirrhosis and inconsistent sleep-wake cycles more than doubled the risk of gangrene.
Neuroscientist Dr Matt Walker said on the Huberman Lab podcast: 'Regularity is probably best for the continuity of your sleep.
'When you give [your brain] regularity, sleep starts to become more stable, more stable means that it's less likely to be littered with awakenings, meaning that it's better quality of sleep.'
How to improve your sleep regularity
The sleep experts at The Sleep Foundation advise: 'Pick a bedtime and wake-up time that you can stick with and that offer ample time for the sleep you need. Follow this schedule every day, even on weekends. It may take time to adjust to this new sleep schedule, which is normal. '
If you would prefer to gradually adapt to a new schedule, you can make 15 to 30 minute adjustments over a series of days to get used to the changes.
They also recommend that your sleeping pattern should:
Stay consistent from day-to-day
Allow for at least seven hours of sleep each night
Align as closely with day and night as your lifestyle allows
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