Irregular Sleep Patterns Linked To Higher Mortality Risk

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New investigation reveals that regularly sleeping 7–8 hours could thief little your consequence of early death, while irregular aliases prolonged slumber whitethorn awesome hidden wellness risks.

Top position of azygous mediate aged man peacefully sleeping unsocial successful furniture astatine nighttime astatine homeStudy: The effect of slumber wellness connected cardiovascular and all-cause mortality successful nan wide population. Image credit: fast-stock/Shutterstock.com

A caller Korean study, published successful Scientific Reports, reveals that prolonged slumber long of much than 8 hours is associated pinch accrued mortality risk, peculiarly successful men pinch regular slumber and women pinch irregular sleep. The study emphasizes nan value of considering slumber long and regularity while processing personalized slumber health interventions.   

Background

Sleep is an basal physiological process characterized by an altered authorities of consciousness, reduced beingness activity, and reduced responsiveness to outer stimuli. Various dimensions of sleep, including duration, quality, regularity, and circadian alignment, collectively lend to physiological and psychological homeostasis.

Several studies person linked prolonged slumber long and mediocre slumber value pinch accrued risks of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases and all-cause mortality. Emerging grounds has identified slumber regularity (the consistency of sleep–wake timing) arsenic a perchance stronger predictor of cardiometabolic wellness than slumber long alone.

Considering nan individual effect of different slumber dimensions connected quality health, researchers from nan Hanyang University Medical Center, Republic of Korea, investigated nan associations betwixt slumber long and regularity and risks of awesome adverse cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality successful Korean adults.

Study design

The study included much than 9000 participants from nan Korean Genome Epidemiology Study conducted by nan Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The participants were agrarian (Ansung) and municipality (Ansan) organization residents.

The participants were categorized into aggregate groups according to self-reported slumber long (less than 7 hours, 7 to 8 hours, aliases much than 8 hours) and slumber regularity (regular aliases irregular).

Appropriate statistical analyses were conducted to analyse nan effect of slumber duration, regularity, and their operation connected cardiovascular illness and all-cause mortality risks successful nan study population. Sex-specific analyses were besides conducted to measure nan imaginable sex-based differences successful these objective outcomes.

Key findings

The study identified 1,095 deaths and 811 awesome adverse cardiovascular events successful nan study organization during nan follow-up play of complete 15 years.

The analysis, adjusting for clinically applicable confounding factors, revealed that participants pinch much than 8 hours of slumber person a importantly higher consequence of all-cause mortality than those pinch 7 to 8 hours of sleep. A inclination toward accrued mortality consequence was besides observed successful participants pinch little than 7 hours of sleep, though this did not scope statistical significance.

Regarding slumber regularity, nan study recovered that participants pinch irregular slumber patterns person a humble but non-significant summation successful mortality consequence compared to those pinch regular slumber patterns. However, nary important effect of slumber insufficiency was observed connected nan all-cause mortality risk. Notably, nan study could not find immoderate important effect of nan tested slumber dimensions (sleep duration, regularity, and sufficiency) connected nan consequence of awesome adverse cardiovascular events aft accommodation for confounding factors. However, a non-significant inclination was observed successful agelong and irregular sleepers.

The mixed study of each slumber dimensions revealed that participants pinch little than 7 hours of irregular slumber person nan highest mortality risk. Similarly, participants pinch much than 8 hours of regular slumber person a importantly accrued mortality risk. In women, much than 8 hours of irregular slumber was besides linked to higher mortality. A inclination toward accrued cardiovascular consequence was observed successful participants pinch agelong and irregular sleep.

The sex-specific study revealed differential associations of slumber dimensions pinch mortality risk. In nan full study population, a importantly higher mortality consequence was observed successful men pinch little than 7 hours of irregular slumber aliases much than 8 hours of regular sleep. In women, however, nan highest relation for mortality was observed successful those pinch much than 8 hours of irregular sleep.

Study significance

The study findings uncover that adults who consistently support a peculiar sleep-wake timing and slumber for 7 to 8 hours regular are astatine little consequence of all-cause mortality. Any deviation from this slumber scope whitethorn summation nan consequence of mortality. The mortality consequence is peculiarly pronounced among individuals pinch irregular slumber patterns accompanied by short aliases agelong slumber durations, pinch important associations observed, particularly successful men pinch short irregular aliases agelong regular sleep, and women pinch agelong irregular sleep.

The study findings item nan value of slumber long and regularity arsenic beardown independent predictors of adverse wellness outcomes. Together pinch emerging epidemiological and mechanistic findings, these findings propose that agelong slumber long is consistently linked pinch higher mortality, while short slumber shows a non-significant but concerning trend.

Sleep deprivation is known to summation nan consequence of various chronic diseases, including hypertension, diabetes, and obesity. The antagonistic power of short slumber long connected wide wellness outcomes whitethorn thief explicate nan concerning inclination towards higher mortality.

A prolonged slumber long whitethorn bespeak underlying undiagnosed wellness conditions aliases unmanaged comorbidities, specified arsenic obstructive slumber apnea, which tin perchance summation nan consequence of cardiovascular events and mortality.

The chopped sex-specific associations observed successful nan study whitethorn beryllium attributed to activity hormone-mediated slumber regulation. In women, hormonal transitions and greater vulnerability to psychosocial accent and caregiving responsibilities whitethorn effect slumber patterns. In men, a higher prevalence of obstructive slumber apnea and work-related stress, specified arsenic agelong moving hours, whitethorn play a role.

The age-specific associations observed successful nan study propose that middle-aged individuals (40 to 49 years) are much apt to create wellness adversities owed to short slumber duration. On nan different hand, older adults (over 60 years) are much susceptible to nan adverse effects of prolonged sleep.

Collectively, these findings item nan request to see some slumber characteristics and demographic characteristics (age and sex) while processing personalized slumber wellness interventions for objective aliases nationalist wellness use.

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Journal reference:

  • Park SJ. (2025). The effect of slumber wellness connected cardiovascular and all-cause mortality successful nan wide population. Scientific Reports. doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-15828-6. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-15828-6
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