Sleep and Disease

By: Scottsdale Weight Loss Center
Published: November 11, 2022
Woman sleeping soundly at night.

Childhood Obesity

Childhood obesity is a growing health concern worldwide, with long-term consequences for a child’s...

A recent study out of the UK and France found that starting at age 50, those who slept 5 or less hours a night have a 30% increased risk of several serious, chronic diseases (see below) and by the age of 70, in those who slept five or less hours a night the risk increases to 40%.

The 12 diseases that increase with Poor Sleep include:

  • Diabetes
  • Cancer
  • Heart Disease
  • Stroke
  • Heart Failure
  • Chronic Obstructive Sleep Apnea
  • Chronic Kidney Disease
  • Liver Disease
  • Depression
  • Dementia
  • Parkinson’s Disease
  • Arthritis

In this study the researchers asked 8000 people in the UK as part of a larger study. They were asked to rate their sleep every 4-5 years and were followed for the next 25 years.

Unfortunately, if the participant slept 9 or more hours a night, those aged 60 and 70 were also at increased risk for these
chronic conditions.

In conclusion, this study reinforces the health benefits, way beyond weight, for sleep of 7-9 hours per night over a lifetime.

There were several limitations to this study.

  1. 2/3 were male
  2. 90% were white
  3. The data was collected via self-reports and therefore may be affected by reporting bias.
  4. This group also seemed to be healthier than the general population.

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