Consistency of sleep could be a stronger predictor of health risk than the number of hours spent in bed, research from Vitality has discovered.
Although sleeping for at least seven hours a night is believed to add two years to your life expectancy, the health and life insurer has found that a personalised approach could be more beneficial.
That is for people leading an active lifestyle as well as being consistent in the time you go to bed and the number of hours you sleep for.
This was based on data from devices warn by more than 150,000 Vitality members.
Are you getting enough?
Previous analysis from Vitality, which has been verified by the London School of Economics (LSE), shows that regularly sleeping for more than seven hours is associated with an 8% reduction in hospital claims.
Falling short of these guidelines is associated with cardiovascular disease, metabolic dysfunction and cognitive decline.
Vitality’s research shows that 36% of their members sleep less than this, with 16% spending less than six hours in bed.
Super sleepers
Yet the research discovered what Vitality is calling “super sleepers” – adults under the age of 60 who do not suffer from chronic conditions and exercise consistently.
The data suggests that for such people, sleeping between five and six hours does not produce the adverse health outcomes typically associated with such a short period of sleep.
The research concluded that exercising at least three times a week is the primary factor making people “super sleepers”.
A more nuanced story
Katie Tryon, deputy chief executive of Vitality Health, said: “For years, the message has been simple: get eight hours or face the consequences. Our data tells a more nuanced story.
“Broad sleep guidelines have their place, but what this data shows us is that a personalised approach — one that accounts for lifestyle, activity levels and sleep consistency — can be a more meaningful guide to health than a universal hour-based target.
“This is a specific finding about a specific cohort: younger, active adults without chronic conditions, where lifestyle factors, sleep quality and consistency matter as much as duration.
“We have seen members sleeping under six hours avoid the negative health outcomes typically associated with short sleep, but only when their bedtime and sleep length are consistent, night after night.
“This builds on our research with the LSC, which showed that consistent sleep behaviours alone can add up to two years to life expectancy.
“Together, this tells us that how — and when — we sleep can matter just as much as how long.”