- ALLERGY, RESPIRATORY
- Herbal Remedy Could Halt Peanut Allergy
- Climate Change Could Sting Allergy, Asthma Sufferers
- Childhood Food Allergies on the Rise
- ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
- Massage Fosters Healing in Bereaved Relatives
- New Insights Show Ginseng Fights Inflammation
- Regular Yoga May Improve Eating Habits
- ANIMAL CARE
- Separation Anxiety, Canine-Style
- Rest Easy. When It Comes to Swine Flu, Your Pet Is Safe
- Safe Toys for Dogs
- BONES & JOINTS
- Tai Chi May Help Ease Fibromyalgia
- Barefoot Lifestyle Has Its Dangers
- Rheumatoid Arthritis Hits Women Harder
- CANCER
- Want to Stop Cancer? You Can, Experts Say
- Green Tea May Help Prevent Oral Cancer
- Multiple Screening Strategy Boosts Cervical Cancer Detection
- CAREGIVING
- Mom's Smoking May Lead to SIDS
- Newborn Screenings Now Required Across U.S.
- Baby's Sleep Position May Not Affect Severity of Head Flattening
- CIRCULATORY SYSTEM
- Laughter Can Boost Heart Health
- Support Network May Play Role in Benefits of Drinking
- Potassium-Rich Foods May Cut Stroke, Heart Disease Risk
- COSMETIC
- What to Do If You Have Unsightly Veins
- Mouse Study Finds Molecule That Tells Hair to Grow
- New Genetic Links to Baldness Discovered
- DENTAL, ORAL
- Health Tip: At Risk for Gingivitis
- Rheumatoid Arthritis May Harm Gums
- Most Insured Adults Worry About Health Care Costs: Poll
- DIABETES
- Vitamin K Slows Insulin Resistance in Older Men
- 'Standard' Glucose Test May Be Wrong One for Obese Children
- Insulin Resistance Tied to Peripheral Artery Disease
- DIET, NUTRITION
- Whole Grains, Bran May Fight Hypertension in Men
- Eating Nuts May Help Cholesterol Levels
- Want to Stop Cancer? You Can, Experts Say
- DISABILITIES
- Review Finds Marijuana May Help MS Patients
- Could Your Cell Phone Help Shield You From Alzheimer's?
- ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
- Gene Mutation May Cause Some Cases of Seasonal Affective Disorder
- Years of Exposure to Traffic Pollution Raises Blood Pressure
- Stomach Germ May Protect Against Asthma
- EYE CARE, VISION
- When Corks Fly, Watch the Eyes
- Americans Losing Sight of Eye Health
- Retinal Gene Is Linked to Childhood Blindness
- FITNESS
- Bursts of Vigorous Activity Appear to Be a 'Stress-Buffer'
- Strenuous Daily Workout May Keep Cancer at Bay
- Avoiding a Holiday Season of Discontent
- GASTROINTESTINAL PROBLEMS
- Intestinal Bacteria Trigger Immune Response
- Gum Chewing May Speed Colon Surgery Recovery
- Soothing Imagery May Help Rid Some Kids of Stomach Pain
- GENERAL HEALTH
- Kids More Apt to Smoke If Mom Did While Pregnant
- Proven Strategies for Avoiding Colds and the Flu
- Smog Tougher on the Obese
- HEAD & NECK
- Ski Helmets Encouraged for All
- Zen May Thicken Brain, Thwart Pain
- Many Children Will Outgrow Headaches
- HEALTH & TECHNOLOGY
- Subway Defibrillators Save Lives
- Airport Full Body Scanners Pose No Health Threat: Experts
- Save Your Aging Brain, Try Surfing The Web
- HEART & CARDIOVASCULAR
- Too Much Red Meat May Shorten Life Span
- Vitamin B3 May Help Repair Brain After a Stroke
- Irregular Heartbeat Tied to Alzheimer's Disease
- INFECTIOUS DISEASE
- Surgical Masks Could Prevent Flu, Maybe
- Poor Restroom Cleaning Causes Cruise-Ship Sickness
- Bacterial Infections May Succumb to Honey
- KID'S HEALTH
- Exercise in Adolescence May Cut Risk of Deadly Brain Tumor
- Safety Should Be Priority for Those Involved in Kids' Sports
- Stomach Germ May Protect Against Asthma
- MEN'S HEALTH
- Drinking Green Tea May Slow Prostate Cancer
- Exercise May Prevent Prostate Cancer: Study Shows
- Varicose Veins May Mask Larger Problem
- MENTAL HEALTH
- Optimism May Boost Immune System
- Drink Away Dementia?
- Eight Spiritual Universal Principles in the Art of Practice
- PAIN
- Are We Exercising Pain Away? Not So Much.
- Acupuncture, Real or Fake, Eases Back Pain
- Tai Chi May Help Ease Fibromyalgia
- PREGNANCY
- Obesity May Affect Fertility in Young Womene
- Woman in America Are Delaying Motherhood, Study Says
- Music of Mozart Soothes the Preemie Baby
- SENIORS
- Eating Well And Keeping Active As You Grow Old Will Help You Stay Sharp
- Save Your Aging Brain, Try Surfing The Web
- Daily dose of beet juice promotes brain health in older adults
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
