According to a new study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, people who have trouble falling asleep are three times more likely to die an early death. (Or turn into a zombie, which ever may come first.)
We’re joking about the zombie part, but insomnia is a serious issue and one that should be dealt with immediately as it has serious health-related repercussions later on. Lack of sleep affects everything from our mood to our metabolism.
In this specific study, participants answered sleep questionnaires in 1989, 1994, and 2000, and were classified as having insomnia if they reported having symptoms five or more times a month on at least two of the surveys.
According to Laurel Finn, MS, of the University of Wisconsin Madison, “Among participants in the study, chronic insomnia was associated with a threefold risk of all-cause mortality.”
She added, “Insomnia has been linked with several problems that potentially could influence mortality. For example, disruptions in sleep can result in hormonal changes that can disrupt various metabolic systems.”
Severe lack of sleep may play a role in the development of serious afflictions such as hypertension and cardiovascular disease, as well as other conditions such as depression.
It is because of these health risks combined with the high rate of insomnia in the U.S., (30% of the U.S. adult population –yikes!) that Finn and her colleagues analyzed data from 2,242 participants to examine mortality associated with insomnia and its various subtypes.
In the study, individual mortality symptoms were classified as: no insomnia, any chronic insomnia, or four subtypes of insomnia -- difficulty falling asleep, waking repeatedly, difficulty falling back to sleep, or waking too early.
During 19 years of follow-up there were 128 deaths, for a 6% mortality rate. Deaths were confirmed through the Social Security death index.
Half of the deaths were in men and among patients classified as follows:
• Difficulty falling asleep, 10.2%
• Difficulty falling back to sleep, 10.1%
• Waking too early, 9.4%
• Any chronic insomnia, 8.6%
• Waking repeatedly, 8.6%
• No insomnia, 2.6%
Furthermore, patients with all insomnia subtypes were two-to-three times more at risk of an early death. Talk about some scary stuff!
In the end, we all need to take sleep more seriously and make it a priority. We’re seeing more and more studies that prove of the detrimental effects of lack of sleep, so getting 7-8 quality hours of rest is crucial for our health and well-being.
You don’t want to turn into a zombie do you? Or even worse, die before your time?
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