Surprising graphs show that too little sleep, or too much sleep, can be DEADLY

It used to be a badge of honor for top performers to say they barely slept.

Studies show that if you sleep less than seven hours, you are almost certain to die prematurely.

The risks of developing heart disease, obesityand deaths increased by 83 percent, 82 percent and 40 percent respectively.

And yet, as many as one in three adults in the US suffers from sleep deprivation.

More recent research shows that sleeping too much, nine hours or more, is linked to an increased risk of death by 74 percent, stroke by 12 percent and obesity by 37 percent.

The solid line in this graph represents the average risk of death [the Y axis] based on sleep duration [the X axis]The dotted line shows the confidence intervals, which provide a range within which scientists can be confident that the true risk of death lies

The chart shows that sleeping less than six hours significantly increases the risk of chronic diseases, including diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.

The consensus among the vast majority of American adults is that the ideal amount of sleep is between seven and eight hours.

However, about 0.5 percent of the population has a rare genetic mutation that allows a person to function on four to six hours of sleep.

But for the rest of us, our risks of dying from any cause increase as we less than six and more than eight or nine per night.

Graphs showing the damaging effects of unhealthy sleep (too little or too much) show that there is a high risk of several health problems with six hours or less of sleep.

The same goes for sleeping more than eight hours. The risks increase with every hour you sleep longer.

People who sleep too little, 14 percent more likely to be depressed, around 108 percent more likely having anxiety, a 37 percent increased risk of obesity to a 12 percent increased risk of stroke stroke

They have a 38 percent increased risk of heart disease, a 29 percent increased risk of high blood pressure, and and 23 percent higher risk of diabetes.

In 2017, an analysis of 40 studies A study examining the risk of all-cause mortality associated with sleep duration found that both very short and very long sleep durations were associated with a higher risk of death compared to about 7 hours of sleep.

Sleeping four to six hours increased the risk of death by four to six percent.

Sleeping eight hours increased the risk of death by three percent, sleeping nine hours by thirteen percent, sleeping ten hours by 25 percent and 11 hours of 38 percent.

Another 2010 analysis by British and Italian researchers looked at 16 studies involving nearly 1.4 million people.

They found that people who sleep less than an average of seven hours per night have a 12 percent higher risk of death compared to those who slept the ideal seven to eight hours.

People who slept more than average (eight to nine hours) had a 30 percent higher chance of dying than people who slept optimally.

The graph shows the results of seven meta-analyses looking at the relationship between sleep duration and stroke risk. All seven analyses reported a significantly increased incidence of stroke in both short and long sleepers

And in 2022, a group of Chinese scientists examined the risk of death from all causes associated with sleeping from five or less to more than nine hours per night.

The researchers found that people who slept less than five hours a day were 40 percent more likely to die from any cause, while those who slept more than nine hours a day were more than 74 percent more likely to die. percent more likely to die from any cause.

They studied more than 25,000 American adults, all of whom had different sleep habits and lifestyle factors that contributed to both poor sleep and chronic disease.

A U-shaped association was found between sleep duration and all-cause mortality, with the lowest risk occurring with 7 hours of sleep per day.

They also found that too little or too much sleep more than doubles the risk of heart problems.

Dr. Chris Winter, a neurologist specializing in sleep in Virginia, told Dailymail.com that the reasons explaining the link between poor sleep and heart problems are “likely multifactorial.”

He said that sleeping too much or too little causes the nervous system to malfunction, leading to increased heart rate, high blood pressure and higher stress levels.

Poor sleep can also worsen inflammation in the body, a known risk factor for heart disease, stroke, dementia and autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.

Weight and metabolism are also affected when someone sleeps too much or too little, as diet often suffers. The effects of sleep on hormones mean that people are likely to make unhealthier food choices.

Sleeping too much or too little, usually six hours or less and nine hours or more, is linked to an increased risk of death from all causes, including death from heart disease and stroke.

Dr. Beth Frates, director of lifestyle medicine and wellness in the department of surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital, said: ‘Most people focus on exercise and diet when it comes to weight management and heart health, but few pay attention to sleep.

‘Working on ways to improve sleep hygiene can help people increase their sleep time to the recommended seven to nine hours per night. This, in turn, can lead to reduced calorie intake and even weight loss in people who fall into the overweight category based on BMI.’

In another study of heart health risk, published in the journal Journal of the American Heart AssociationResearch has shown that middle-aged adults with conditions such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease or stroke are at greater risk of cancer and premature death if they sleep less than six hours a night.

They studied more than 1,600 adults aged 20 to 74, focusing on those with high blood pressure, diabetes, existing heart disease and a history of stroke.

From 1991 to 1998, they were subjected to sleep studies in a laboratory. The cause of death was recorded until the end of 2016.

During the study period, 512 people died, a third of whom died from a heart attack or stroke, and a quarter from cancer.

People with high blood pressure or diabetes who slept less than 6 hours were twice as likely to die from heart disease or stroke than people who slept longer.

And people with heart disease or a history of stroke who slept less than six hours were three times more likely to die from cancer.

The risk of stroke is expected to increase by 50%. about 18 percent for each additional hour of sleep above the optimal duration of about seven or eight.

Another study published last year estimated sleep problems such as sleeping too little or too much increases the risk of stroke fivefold.

Dr. Phyllis Zee, director of the Center for Circadian and Sleep Medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, said CNN: ‘Poor sleep can disrupt the natural reduction in blood pressure that occurs during sleep and contribute to hypertension — a major risk factor for stroke and cardiovascular disease.’

The effects of a bad night’s sleep are immediately noticeable. After about three days of too little sleep, a person can develop hallucinations or psychoses.

It can also lead to an increased risk of death from an accident or injury. Nearly 20 percent of all serious injuries in car accidents among the general public are related to driver drowsiness, independent of the effects of alcohol.

Compared with drivers who normally slept seven hours, those who reported sleeping less were 1.3 times more likely to have an accident, while those who slept five to six hours almost twice as likely to collide.

And four to five hours of sleep quadruples the risk of a serious accident.