A study analyzing data from approximately 100,000 people has revealed that sleep quality may be as important for health as sleep duration. It has been determined that longer REM (rapid eye movement) sleep is associated with a reduced risk of 83 diseases, including heart failure, dementia, and Parkinson’s disease.
elchi reports that researchers from Peking University in China analyzed the health indicators of 95,559 people from the “UK Biobank” database.
The participants’ sleep patterns were measured over seven consecutive days using accelerometers worn on their wrists. In addition to total sleep duration, the researchers evaluated REM, deep, and light sleep stages, time spent awake during the night, and night-to-night variations in sleep patterns.
Participants were followed for an average of nine years. Sleep data were analyzed for associations with thousands of diseases.
Focus on REM sleep
The study found that longer REM sleep is associated with a reduced risk of 83 diseases, including heart failure, dementia, and Parkinson’s disease.
Longer deep sleep was associated with a reduced risk of seven diseases, including type 2 diabetes and clinical depression.
Conversely, irregular sleep patterns and longer periods of wakefulness after falling asleep were associated with an increased risk of certain health problems, such as anxiety disorders and substance use disorders.
Lowest risk observed in those sleeping 6–8 hours
The study found that individuals who regularly sleep between 6 and 8 hours are in the lowest risk group for various diseases. Stronger associations with 37 health problems were found in those sleeping less than 5 hours, while an increased risk for certain diseases was observed in those sleeping more than 8 hours.
Researchers noted that for most diseases, the sleep duration associated with the lowest risk falls within the 6-8 hour range.
Scientists emphasized that this is an observational study and does not prove that sleep patterns are the direct cause of changes in disease risk.
According to the researchers, the findings complement existing evidence on the importance of 6–8 hours of sleep for health, especially for middle-aged and older adults.
Şayəstə