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The bedroom activity that predicts longevity better than diet or exercise
Want to live a long life?
No problem. Research into extending our lifespans has been at a fever pitch for a few decades now, and science has determined that certain healthy habits can add years to the average lifespan…
For starters, eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly and getting enough sleep.
The first two are often considered most important.
But you’ll be surprised to learn how much poor sleep can shorten your life…
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Sleep determines how long you’ll live
Researchers from Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) looked at survey data from across the U.S. covering the years 2019 to 2025.
Theirs is an observational study, so it can’t prove that getting less sleep shortens your lifespan. Nor can it untangle the interactions among sleep, diet, and exercise.
However, it suggests that the amount of sleep you get each night is linked strongly to your long-term health, and thus to how long — or short — your life may be.
“I didn’t expect [insufficient sleep] to be so strongly correlated to life expectancy,” says OHSU sleep physiologist Andrew McHill.
Hill and his colleagues compared measures of life expectancy with self-reported sleep duration. Anything less than 7 hours of sleep a night was considered insufficient.
They also factored in variables such as physical inactivity, employment status and educational level, all of which can affect life expectancy.
They concluded that, except for smoking, sleep has the strongest link to how long you’ll live.
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Ways to get more and better sleep
Now that we know this, how can you go about improving the amount of sleep you get if you’re not someone who falls asleep the minute your head hits the pillow and visits dreamland for at least 7 hours every night?
Here are a few tips…
Quit doomscrolling in bed. Stop thumbing through Facebook or other social media as you’re trying to fall asleep. Even better, keep your cell phone in another room altogether to avoid blue light, which has been linked to a shorter lifespan.
Eliminate all light. Even a small amount of light, less than that equivalent to the flame of a candle, can adversely impact your sleep cycle and trigger depression.
Get more daylight exposure. It’s a good idea to get daily sunlight exposure or, if that’s not possible, invest in an artificial bright-light device or bulbs.
Don’t drink caffeine late in the day. Avoid caffeinated beverages at least 8 hours before bedtime. Caffeine has an adverse effect on REM sleep, the phase where you recover from stress.
Go to bed and get up at consistent times. If you have trouble sleeping, try to get into the habit of waking up and going to bed at roughly the same times each day. After several weeks, you might not even need an alarm.
Take a melatonin supplement. Melatonin is a key sleep hormone that tells your brain when it’s time to relax and head to bed. You can start with a low dose and work your way up, but don’t exceed the supplement recommendation on the bottle. If you’ve tried melatonin and it didn’t work well for you, you may have low vitamin D levels. These nutrients are both hormones that work together.
You might also try taking magnesium supplements. Magnesium activates the parasympathetic nervous system, the system responsible for balancing your “fight or flight” response by slowing your heart rate, promoting relaxation, and conserving energy for essential functions, including sleep.
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Sources:
One Critical Factor Predicts Longevity Better Than Diet or Exercise, Study Says — Science Alert
Sleep insufficiency and life expectancy at the state-county level in the United States, 2019–2025 — Sleep Advances
Losing Just One Night’s Sleep Changes Your Immune System, Study Finds — Science Alert
Just One Night of Poor Sleep Can Change How Your Brain Sees Food — Science Alert
Association of healthy sleep patterns with risk of mortality and life expectancy at age of 30 years: a population-based cohort study — Monthly Journal of the Association of Physicians
By Joyce Hollman
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