Getting Enough Sleep Is Key to a Longer Life
Jun 01, 2026 06:00AM ● By Kris Urquhart
A new
study published in the journal SLEEP
Advances used national data from the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, covering all counties in the country between
2019 and 2025, to analyze how sleep insufficiency relates to life expectancy.
Sleep insufficiency is defined as fewer than seven hours of sleep per night.
Using mixed-effects modeling that controlled for other mortality predictors
such as smoking, diet, physical inactivity and social isolation, the
researchers found a significant association between insufficient sleep and a
shorter life expectancy. Only smoking had a stronger relationship with
mortality. The study indicated that getting adequate sleep was more important
to life expectancy than diet and exercise. The results were consistent across
income levels, healthcare access and geographic locations. ❧
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