New research has pinpointed the exact amount of sleep that could be cutting “years off your life”. Regularly getting this amount of sleep or less could impact your life expectancy even more than poor diet or lack of exercise.
The study, which was published in Sleep Advances journal, found that getting a full night of sleep may play a larger role in longevity than many people realise. As part of the research, a team from the Oregon Health and Science University, examined survey patterns related to life expectancy across counties throughout the United States.
As reported by Science Daily, they compared county-level life expectancy figures with detailed survey data collected by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention between 2019 and 2025.
They found that sleep’s association with life expectancy was stronger than that of diet, physical activity, or social isolation.
Smoking was the only factor that had more of an influence. It was concluded that getting less than seven hours of sleep a night could lower your life expectancy.
Senior study author Andrew McHill said: “I didn’t expect it to be so strongly correlated to life expectancy. We’ve always thought sleep is important, but this research really drives that point home: people really should strive to get seven to nine hours of sleep if at all possible.”
He continued: “It’s intuitive and makes a lot of sense, but it was still striking to see it materialise so strongly in all of these models. I’m a sleep physiologist who understands the health benefits of sleep, but the strength of the association between sleep sufficiency and life expectancy was remarkable to me.”
Although other studies have linked poor sleep to increased risk of death, this research is the first to show year-by-year links between sleep and life expectancy across every US state. The study itself did not examine the biological reasons behind the connection.
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But McHill explained that sleep plays a critical role in heart health, immune function, and brain performance. “This research shows that we need to prioritise sleep at least as much as we do to what we eat or how we exercise,” he said.
“Sometimes, we think of sleep as something we can set aside and maybe put off until later or on the weekend. Getting a good night’s sleep will improve how you feel but also how long you live.”
Study authors wrote: “Millions of Americans obtain insufficient sleep daily, defined as less than seven hours of sleep per night on a regular basis for an adult. This is a public health concern as insufficient sleep increases the risk for cardiometabolic disease and all-cause mortality regardless of sleep disorder.”
Previous findings
As mentioned, this is not the first study to link life expectancy with sleep. In 2023, researchers revealed there were five key sleep habits that could add years to your life.
Life expectancy was 4.7 years greater for men and 2.4 years greater for women who reported having all five quality sleep measures This was compared with those who had none or only one of the five favourable elements of low-risk sleep.
These five habits were:
- Getting seven or eight hours sleep a night
- Difficulty falling asleep no more than twice a week
- Trouble staying asleep no more than twice a week
- Not using any sleep medication
- Feeling well rested when waking up at least five days a week
As part of the study, the researchers analysed data from more than 172,000 American adults, with an average age of 50, who participated in an annual health survey that included questions about sleep and sleep habits.
Participants were followed for an average of 4.3 years during which time 8,681 of them died.
Of the deaths, 30% were from cardiovascular disease, 24% were from cancer and 46% were due to other causes.
Researchers assessed the five different factors of quality sleep using a low-risk sleep score they created based on answers collected as part of the survey. Study co-author and clinical fellow in medicine at Harvard Medical School, Doctor Frank Qian, explained: “If people have all these ideal sleep behaviours, they are more likely to live longer.”
He continued: “It’s important for younger people to understand that a lot of health behaviours are cumulative over time. Just like we like to say, ‘it’s never too late to exercise or stop smoking,’ it’s also never too early. And we should be talking about and assessing sleep more often.”
They also suggested that around 8% of deaths from any cause could be attributed to poor sleep patterns.
“I think these findings emphasise that just getting enough hours of sleep isn’t sufficient,” Dr Qian said. “You really have to have restful sleep and not have much trouble falling and staying asleep.”
Dr Qian was due to present the findings at the American College of Cardiology’s annual Scientific Session in 2023.