Getting good sleep could add years to your life, study suggests

Sign up to our free Living Well email for advice on living a happier, healthier and longer life Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Getting good sleep could see men live almost five years longer, and women more than two years longer, than men and women who sleep badly, new research suggests. I think these findings emphasise that just getting enough hours of sleep isn’t sufficient Frank Qian, Harvard Medical School Good sleep was based on five different factors: ideal sleep duration of seven to eight hours a night, difficulty falling asleep no more than two times a week, trouble staying asleep no more than two times a week, not using any sleep medication, and feeling well rested after waking up at least five days a week. Frank Qian, an internal medicine resident physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre in Boston, America, said: “We saw a clear dose-response relationship, so the more beneficial factors someone has in terms of having higher quality of sleep, they also have a stepwise lowering of all cause and cardiovascular mortality.” The clinical fellow in medicine at Harvard Medical School and co-author of the study, added: “I think these findings emphasise that just getting enough hours of sleep isn’t sufficient. Dr Qian said: “Even from a young age, if people can develop these good sleep habits of getting enough sleep, making sure they are sleeping without too many distractions and have good sleep hygiene overall, it can greatly benefit their overall long-term health.” More research is needed to determine why men had double the increase in life expectancy compared with women who had the same quality sleep.