• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Study claims these specific sleep habits could heighten your chances of premature death by up to 29%

Home> News> Health

Published 16:49 28 Feb 2025 GMT

Study claims these specific sleep habits could heighten your chances of premature death by up to 29%

Making sure you get good sleep is more important than you might think

Gerrard Kaonga

Gerrard Kaonga

Failing to get a good night's rest could be more important than you think as a new study comes to some shocking conclusions.

Most people know the importance of getting plenty of sleep, even if you struggle to get the recommended amount.

But what actually IS the recommended amount of sleep a person should get each night?

Well, a new study breaks down exactly how much that is, as well as the dangers of getting too little and, believe it or not, too much. For optimal health, adults are encouraged to get seven to nine hours each night but only an estimated 30 to 45 percent of American adults are actually getting that much.

Advert

Less than 50 percent Americans get the recommended amount of sleep each night (Getty Stock Image)
Less than 50 percent Americans get the recommended amount of sleep each night (Getty Stock Image)

The study by Vanderbilt University reported that subpar sleep can increase the risk of premature death by up to 29% percent.

Sleep epidemiologist Dayna Johnson was not involved in the study but commented on the findings, as well as the significance of looking into the science of sleep.

She said: “This study highlights the importance of maintaining healthy sleep over time.

Advert

“It also raises critical questions about the potential for recovery from insufficient sleep and the time required to reverse its effects on health outcomes.”

The researchers analyzed the sleep habits of nearly 47,000 low-income adults 40 to 79 years old, and the participants then shared the average sleep duration they would have, five years apart.

Sleep duration was categorized as short (<7 hours), healthy (7-9 hours), and long (>9 hours) based on current recommendations.

The sleep habits that resulted in the shocking increased risk of premature death appeared to be from shifting from one sleep duration category to another.

Advert

The face of a man not getting enough good sleep (Getty Stock Image)
The face of a man not getting enough good sleep (Getty Stock Image)

According to the study, The habits (aka the Suboptimal categories) were:

  • Transition from healthy sleep duration to short (healthy-short) or long (healthy-long) durations
  • Maintaining short sleep durations (short-short)
  • Transition from short to healthy (short-healthy) or short to long (short-long) durations
  • Maintaining long durations (long-long),
  • Transition from long to healthy (long-healthy) or long to short (long-short) durations

Now before you start panicking, the scientists behind the study advised against reading too deeply into their findings. They said this was because the sleep data represents only two points in time.

Advert

Ultimately, it seems the best option is to focus on getting the best quality and healthy sleep each night for as long as possible.

Easier said than done but its worth focusing on it for your health.

Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/Dima Berlin

Topics: Sleep, Health

Gerrard Kaonga
Gerrard Kaonga

Gerrard is a Journalist at UNILAD and has dived headfirst into covering everything from breaking global stories to trending entertainment news. He has a bachelors in English Literature from Brunel University and has written across a number of different national and international publications. Most notably the Financial Times, Daily Express, Evening Standard and Newsweek.

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

3 hours ago
6 hours ago
7 hours ago
8 hours ago
  • 3 hours ago

    Amazon Prime series with near-perfect RT score is labeled 'one of the best' by Stephen King

    The series starring Titus Welliver has been branded 'one of the most underrated TV shows'

    Film & TV
  • 6 hours ago

    People horrified after hearing tech billionaire Peter Thiel’s ‘sociopathic’ response about the future of humanity

    People have been creeped out by how he answered a simple question

    News
  • 7 hours ago

    Doctor issues warning over hidden symptoms of Lyme disease as tick bites near record highs in US states

    Parts of the US have seen a sudden uptick in tick bites

    News
  • 8 hours ago

    ‘World’s top couple’s therapist’ reveals the one surprising behavior in people’s relationships that ‘scares her’

    The psychologist said this one thing in other couples doesn't seem real

    News
  • Study claims eating these specific 6 foods could 'reverse' biological aging
  • Experts warn that napping between these specific hours could give you a higher risk of death
  • New study claims extra sleepiness during the day could hint to a very specific pre-dementia syndrome
  • Harvard experts warns four common habits could be shrinking our brains