Too Little, Too Much Sleep Linked with Increased Risk of Chronic Diseases

Among more than 54,000 adults age 45 years and older, those who slept 6 hours or less per night as well as those who slept 10 hours or more had increased risks of obesity, frequent mental distress, coronary heart disease, stroke, and diabetes compared with people who slept from 7 to 9 hours. The U-shaped relationships of sleep duration with heart disease, stroke, and diabetes were moderately attenuated by mental distress. The relationship between sleep duration and diabetes was slightly attenuated by obesity. The findings are published in the journal SLEEP.