Optimum Sleep for Longevity in Women May Be Around 6 Hours A Night

American women say they are desperate for more sleep, but a new study conducted by University of California, San Diego indicates that the secret to longevity lies with sleeping at least five hours a night and not over eight.

Following up 14 years later on 444 of the original 459 women involved in the Women’s Health Initiative, researchers were surprised to determine that the best survival was observed among women who slept 5 to 6.5 hours, or less than commonly recommended by doctors.

For women sleeping less than 7 1/2 hours a night, we have reason to worry less about our health.

The new findings are interesting when compared to sleep-related research published three weeks ago.

People who sleep less than six hours a night are three times more likely to develop the precondition to diabetes and heart disease than those who stay down for six to eight hours. via AOC

In a separate study, referenced in same article, sleeping more than eight hours also represented a high risk for diabetes.

The overlap in these research studies is sleeping six to seven and a half hours of sleep each night, with a bullseye around six hours. Heart disease and diabetes are the two greatest threats to women’s longevity, so the correlations in the research is relevant for women’s health.