Sleeping less than 5 hrs can cause multiple chronic diseases by the time you turn 50, says study

Your health may be at a tipping point, and your sleep habits are to be blamed.

According to a British study, people who sleep five hours or less are at a greater risk of developing two or more chronic diseases in mid-to-late life, compared to those who slept for up to seven hours. Having multiple chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer, diabetes, stroke and arthritis can be detrimental to the health.

The researchers from the University College London (UCL) found that poor sleeping habits can cause a 20 per cent higher risk of being diagnosed with one chronic disease. Whereas, around 40 per cent of people who slept less than five hours were more likely to be diagnosed with two or more chronic diseases over a follow-up period of 25 years.


Published in the PLOS Medicine journal, the study also found that sleeping for five hours or less at the age of 50, 60 and 70 was linked to a 30-40 per cent higher risk of multiple chronic diseases.

The findings also highlighted how short sleep duration can increase the risk of death in the long run. The UK researchers also found that a sleep duration of five hours or less at age 50 was associated with a 25 per cent increased risk of mortality over the follow-up period.

For the study, the team analysed the Whitehall II cohort data to determine the impact of sleep on the health of more than 7,000 men and women at the ages of 50, 60 and 70. The Whitehall II cohort study was conducted from 1985 to 1988, and examined the health of 10,308 civil servants (two-thirds were men and one-third were women) who were between 35 and 55.

As part of the study, researchers also assessed whether sleeping for a long duration, of nine hours or more, affected health outcomes. There was no clear association between long sleep durations at age 50 and multimorbidity in healthy people.

Lead author of the study, Severine Sabia, recommended sleeping for seven to eight hours - as sleep durations over or under this have previously been associated with co-morbidities.

Looking at the data of the participant, the findings also showed that the risk of developing another illness was 35 per cent higher in people who already had a chronic condition and slept for a longer duration.

How many hours do you sleep? Let us know in the Comments section.