Here’s a reason to go to bed earlier tonight (and tomorrow night and the next night): consistently poor sleep puts you at a higher risk for disease, according to a recent study from Capital Medical University in China
The study, which was published in the journal PLOS Medicine, found that people who got more REM sleep were less likely to have 83 diseases, including Parkinson’s disease, dementia, heart disease, high blood pressure and heart failure. REM sleep, which stands for rapid eye movement, is the sleep stage when dreaming happens
People who got more deep sleep also saw health benefits, with less risk of seven diseases, including sleep apnea, depression, Parkinson’s disease and type 2 diabetes
For the study, 95,559 people wore wrist accelerometers that tracked sleep patterns for seven days. Researchers tracked how long participants slept and also how much time they spent in each sleep stage
Participants’ health records were tracked until death, the start of a disease or April 1, 2024, whichever came first. Participants were followed for a median of 8.9 years and were 56 years old on average; 43.7% of participants were men
Researchers found that people who slept six to eight hours each night saw the most health benefits
“The findings provide additional evidence supporting the role of a 6-8 hours’ sleep duration as a health safeguard for middle-aged and older adults, likely attributable to more favorable distributions of sleep stages,” the study authors said in a press release
“Maintaining a sleep duration of six to eight hours can effectively reduce the risk of multiple diseases, providing new insights for health promotion and preventive practice,” the study authors continued
People who slept less than five hours each night had worse health outcomes and a higher risk of disease. Participants who had sleep irregularity ― defined as varying amounts of sleep each night ―or woke up for larger amounts of time throughout the night were more likely to have osteoarthritis, alcohol abuse, anxiety and stomach pain, among other conditions
There are limitations to this research. Participants’ sleep was tracked for just one week, so the data does not account for any subsequent sleep changes. The study pool was also not diverse ― 96.9% of participants were white and participants were healthy at the start of the study, which could mean these results don’t apply to other groups of people
It’s also possible that “reverse causation” impacted the findings. For example, it’s plausible that depression or anxiety caused someone’s sleep irregularity instead of the sleep irregularity causing anxiety and depression
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Here’s how to get more REM and deep sleep
Prioritizing enough hours of undisrupted sleep is a good way to help ensure that you get good amounts of REM and deep sleep
In this study, researchers said six to eight hours of sleep each night is ideal, but the official recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control is at least seven hoursof sleep each night for adults, and more for teenagers and kids
To help your body get the sleep it needs, research shows that it’s important to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. This helps improve sleep quality and helps you get enough sleep
Choosing nonalcoholic beverages such as herbal tea, mocktails or water is also a good way to sleep better. Alcohol is known to disrupt REM sleep. That afternoon coffee or energy drink is also shown to interrupt sleep. It’s best to stop drinking caffeine in the early afternoon or at least six hours before bed
Sleep experts also recommend that you create a soothing bedtime routine — not one that is full of action movies and doomscrolling. Instead, try reading a book, taking a warm shower or stretching
Sticking to a regular workout regimen also benefits sleep, as does avoiding light-emitting devices such as phones and TVs before bed
It’s also important to address any underlying conditions that disrupt sleep, such as obstructive sleep apnea, which is a major reason why tens of millions of adults don’t get restful sleep
While simply getting more sleep isn’t going to completely erase your risk of diseases such as Parkinson’s and dementia, it will help benefit your health, along with your energy levels and mood
