An international study published in Health Data Science looked at objective sleep data from 88,461 adults in the UK Biobank. It found significant associations between sleeping traits and 172 diseases.
The research was led by teams from Peking University and Army Medical University. It highlights sleep regularity, such as a consistent bedtime and circadian rhythm stability, as an under-recognised but crucial factor in the risk of disease.
Using data over an average of 6.8 years, the team identified that 92 diseases had over 20% of their risk factor being linked to poor sleeping behaviour. Moreover, irregular bedtimes (after 00:30) was linked to a 2.57 times higher risk of liver cirrhosis, while low interdaily stability increased the risk of gangrene by 2.61 times.
The study challenges a previous claim that ‘long sleep’ of nine or more hours is harmful. While subjective reports have linked sleeping longer with stroke and heart disease, the objective data revealed that this link is only one disease.
They blame misclassification. 21.67% of ‘long sleepers’ were actually getting less than 6 hours, suggesting that time in bed is being confused with time spent sleeping.
“Our findings underscore the overlooked importance of sleep regularity,” Prof. Shengfeng Wang, senior author of the study said. “It’s time we broaden our definition of good sleep beyond just duration.”
They confirmed multiple associations in US populations, identifying inflammatory pathways as being a possible biological link.
Additional research hopes to examine causality and explore the impact that sleep interventions have on chronic disease outcomes.
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