RECENT NUTRITIONAL STUDY
Sleeping too much or too little linked to chronic
diseases.
A new study finds that too much sleep, as well as too
little sleep, is linked to leading chronic diseases
as diabetes, coronary heart disease, obesity and
anxiety in those aged 45 and over.
The study defines too much sleep as 10 hours or
more, and too little as 6 hours or less.Study co-author
Dr. Janet B. Croft, a senior chronic disease epidemiologist in the Division of Population Health at the
CDC, says:
“Some of the relationships between unhealthy sleep durations and chronic diseases were partially
explained by frequent mental distress and obesity.”
suchFor their study, the researchers examined data on over 54,000 people aged 45 and over living in 14
states of the US.
The data showed 31% of the participants were "short sleepers" who slept an average of 6 hours or less
in a 24-hour period, over 65% were "optimal sleepers" who slept 6 to 9 hours on average, and 4% were
"long sleepers" who slept an average of 10 hours or more.
When they analyzed the relationships between sleep and health, the team found that compared with
optimal sleepers, short sleepers tended to suffer more from coronary heart disease, stroke and
diabetes, as well as obesity and frequent mental distress.
They found the same was true of long sleepers, except in their case, links with coronary heart disease,
stroke and diabetes were even stronger.
Dr. M. Safwan Badr, president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), says:
"Sleeping longer doesn't necessarily mean you're sleeping well."
He says people should understand that sleep affects health: a healthy, balanced lifestyle is not just
about following a good diet and staying fit, but also getting the right quantity and quality of sleep.
The AASM advises patients suffering from chronic conditions - like diabetes, anxiety, heart disease and
obesity - to have their sleep patterns evaluated by a doctor who specializes in sleep medicine.