- ALLERGY, RESPIRATORY
- Herbal Remedy Could Halt Peanut Allergy
- Combating Myths About Seasonal Allergies
- Childhood Food Allergies on the Rise
- ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
- Maggots as Good as Gel in Leg Ulcer Treatments
- Acupuncture, Real or Fake, Eases Back Pain
- Eight Spiritual Universal Principles in the Art of Practice
- BONES & JOINTS
- Autumn Sees More Women With Bunion Problems
- Majority of College Students Report Backpack-Related Pain
- Improved Hip Implants Can Last 20 Years
- CANCER
- Exercise Cuts Lung Cancer Risk in Ex-Smokers by 45%
- Asthmatics Who Quit Smoking May Reverse Lung Damage
- Mineral May Reduce High-Risk Bladder Disease
- CAREGIVING
- Tiniest Babies Carry Biggest Costs
- Robots May Come to Aging Boomers' Rescue
- ER Less Likely to Diagnose Stroke in Younger Folks
- CIRCULATORY SYSTEM
- Years of Exposure to Traffic Pollution Raises Blood Pressure
- Drink a Little Wine, Live a Little Longer
- Walk 100 Steps a Minute for 'Moderate' Exercise
- COSMETIC
- What to Do If You Have Unsightly Veins
- The Acne Drug Accutane More Than Doubles Depression Risk
- New Genetic Links to Baldness Discovered
- DENTAL, ORAL
- Obesity Boosts Gum Disease Risk
- Holistic Dentistry-My View
- Amino Acid May Be Key to Strong Teeth
- DIABETES
- Formula Puts Doctor, Patient Glucose Readings on Same Page
- Treatment for Type 2 Diabetes Updated
- Americans Consuming More Sugary Beverages
- DIET, NUTRITION
- Trans Fat Labeling Gets Tricky
- Trans-Fat Ban In New York City Is Proving successful
- Is Your Refrigerator Getting Enough Attention For Your Raw Food Success?
- DISABILITIES
- Review Finds Marijuana May Help MS Patients
- Could Your Cell Phone Help Shield You From Alzheimer's?
- ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
- Former Inmates at Increased Risk for High Blood Pressure
- Greenhouse Gases Hazardous to Your Health
- Short-Term Air Pollution Exposure May Damage DNA
- EYE CARE, VISION
- Half of U.S. Adults Lack 20/20 Vision
- FDA Goes After Unapproved Eye Washes, Skin Ointments
- Autistic Children Make Limited Eye Contact
- FITNESS
- More Steps a Day Lead to Better Health
- Moderate Aerobic Exercise Lowers Diabetics' Liver Fat
- Go To Work But Skip The Car
- GASTROINTESTINAL PROBLEMS
- Traditional Nonsurgical GERD Treatments Not Impressive
- New Guidelines Issued for Management of IBS
- Gum Chewing May Speed Colon Surgery Recovery
- GENERAL HEALTH
- Whole Grains, Bran May Fight Hypertension in Men
- Diet, Exercise May Slow Kidney Disease Progression
- New Options Offered for Sleep Apnea
- HEAD & NECK
- Zen May Thicken Brain, Thwart Pain
- Ski Helmets Encouraged for All
- Many Children Will Outgrow Headaches
- HEALTH & TECHNOLOGY
- Study Suggests Link Between Cell Phones and Brain Tumors
- E-Mailing Your Way to Healthier Habits
- 'Cell Phone Elbow' -- A New Ill for the Wired Age
- HEART & CARDIOVASCULAR
- Fructose Boosts Blood Pressure, Studies Find
- More Steps a Day Lead to Better Health
- How Weight Loss Can Help the Heart
- INFECTIOUS DISEASE
- Swine Flu Now Reported in All 50 States
- Viral Infection Might Trigger High Blood Pressure
- Swine Flu Loves a Crowd
- KID'S HEALTH
- Breast-Feeding May Protect a Woman's Heart
- Stomach Germ May Protect Against Asthma
- Most Depressed Teens Don't Get Treatment
- MEN'S HEALTH
- Countdown to Hair Loss
- Soy Linked to Low Sperm Count
- Drinking Green Tea May Slow Prostate Cancer
- MENTAL HEALTH
- A Simple 'Thank You' Brings Rewards to All
- The Unmedicated Mind
- Heal Your LifeŽ Tips for Living Well
- PAIN
- Alleviating Rheumatoid Arthritis
- 'Cell Phone Elbow' -- A New Ill for the Wired Age
- Acupuncture, Real or Fake, Eases Back Pain
- PREGNANCY
- Acupuncture May Relieve Acid Indigestation In Pregnancy
- Sugary Colas Tied to Gestational Diabetes
- Breast-Feeding Benefits Moms and Babies
- SENIORS
- Nighttime Urination Linked to Higher Death Rate Among Elderly
- Community Exercise Programs Boost Seniors' Strength
- Vitamin D May Help Keep Aging at Bay
6 to 8 Hours of Shut-Eye Is Optimal for Health
By eholistic.com Published: 05/12/2010
People who sleep less than six hours a night are 12 percent more likely to die prematurely than those who get the recommended six to eight hours of slumber, a new study has found.
The team of British and Italian researchers also found that sleeping too much -- more than nine hours a night -- doesn't increase the risk for death but might be an important sign of a serious or potentially fatal illness.
The researchers reviewed 16 studies that included more than 1.3 million people who were followed for up to 25 years. In that time, more than 100,000 deaths were recorded among the participants, who were from Asia, Europe and the United States.
The findings provide unequivocal evidence of the direct link between insufficient sleep and increased risk of premature death, said the authors of the study, which is published in the May issue of Sleep.
"Modern society has seen a gradual reduction in the average amount of sleep people take, and this pattern is more common amongst full-time workers, suggesting that it may be due to societal pressures for longer working hours and more shift-work," Francesco Cappuccio, leader of the Sleep, Health and Society Program at the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom, said in a university news release. "On the other hand, the deterioration of our health status is often accompanied by an extension of our sleeping time."
"Consistently sleeping six to eight hours per night may be optimal for health," he added. "The duration of sleep should be regarded as an additional behavioral risk factor, or risk marker, influenced by the environment and possibly amenable to change through both education and counseling as well as through measures of public health aimed at favorable modifications of the physical and working environments."
SOURCES: University of Warwick, news release, May 4, 2010 Published on: May 10, 2010
