Too Much And Too Little Sleep Both Greatly Increase Risk Of Mortality

Getting too much or too little sleep could be harmful for health, suggests a new study conducted in Britain.

Jane Ferrie of the University College London Medical School here examined 10,308 participants between 35-55 years of age and found that a decrease in sleep duration among participants sleeping only for six, seven or eight hours was associated with a 110 percent excess risk of cardiovascular mortality.

However, an increase in sleep duration among those sleeping for seven or eight hours was associated with a 110 percent excess risk of non-cardiovascular mortality.

On an average, most adults need seven to eight hours of sleep each night to feel alert and well rested.

"In terms of prevention, our findings also indicate that consistently sleeping seven or eight hours per night is optimal for health," Ferrie was quoted as saying by the science portal EurekAlert.

The research is the first to show that both a decrease and an increase in sleep duration are associated with an elevated risk of mortality by cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular means, respectively.

***** So those of you who spend late nights going out for entertainment, supper etc. or staying home and surfing the net or watching the late, late show on TV, remember the importance of getting at least seven to eight hours of sleep every night. You won't regret it.
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