Eight hours of sleep may not be so great
By Nathan Seppa
Doctors may recommend it for good health, but researchers now find that sleeping 8 to 9 hours a night doesn’t necessarily translate into a longer life.
Scientists came to that conclusion after analyzing medical and lifestyle data, including sleep reports, of 1.1 million people between ages 30 and 102 who had filled out questionnaires in 1982.
The researchers accounted for 32 factors, such as age, smoking, weight, economic status, exercise, and medications that might influence death rate in the group. When they assessed the volunteers’ status 6 years later, the scientists found a surprising trend.