Study claims this specific sleeping habit could add four years to your life span
William Morgan
Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/Andrii Lysenko
Getting the right amount of sleep when you have to balance the demands of modern life is never easy, but a new study has found that too many late nights or early mornings could be killing you.
Researchers working with the London School of Economics and insurance firm Vitality worryingly found that as many as nine in 10 of us are not getting a healthy amount of sleep - which the study found was linked to a higher risk of dying early.
People who consistently fail to get the enough sleep, less than six hours per night, were found to face an increased 20 percent chance of 'premature death' than those who manage to nod off for seven or eight hours.
While this is concerning, the team also found that following some simple sleep hygiene tips and getting into a proper bedtime routine can have an equally massive impact on your health, but boost your life span by up to four years.
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The study details 'optimal sleeping habits' that we all should aim to follow to boost our natural longevity, which includes going to bed at the same time every night and getting at least seven hours of sleep.
That means not doomscrolling in bed until you pass out, or falling asleep while YouTube autoplays in the background. Just seven to eight hours of solid sleep, undisturbed by the blue light of your phone screen.
Following these simple habits reduced the risk of mortality for people in the study by 24 percent and even dropped the risk of being admitted to hospital for any reason by seven percent.
Dr Katie Tryon, deputy CEO at Vitality, explained: "Getting to bed 15 minutes earlier every night, or picking up a book rather than watching one more episode can make a significant difference over time to sleep quality – and this data shows just how much the individual and society can benefit."
But while these rules might seem simple, as many as one in three of us regularly get less than seven hours of rest at night.
While you might be able to balance out the tiredness with enough caffeine, this can accumulate into chronic sleep loss which adds stress to our cardiovascular and immune systems.
Frequently failing to get seven hours or more puts you at higher risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and depression, in addition to making it harder to keep your eyes open and stay focused.
Sleep deprivation can even negatively impact your health if you experience it in the short term, as it disrupts your body's hormone cycle - especially those associated with appetite control and your blood glucose levels.
But the most important change you can make to your sleep routine to increase your longevity, according to the study, is simply to keep the same bedtime every night.
Not only does this routine help you settle into a natural rhythm, but study participants found they were less likely to experience weight gain, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
Professor Joan Costa-i-Font, Professor of Health Economics at LSE, said: "The research makes it clear that better sleep behaviours aren't just about feeling rested, they're fundamental to long-term health and wellbeing investment. The subsequent impact on productivity cannot be overstated.
"This report brings together extensive evidence to show the scale of benefits that improved sleep could deliver. If people and organisations act on these insights, the potential impact on the health of their employees and the wider economy is profound."