A new US study has identified four distinct types of sleepers to better understand the relationship between sleep and long-term health. Raising awareness about the benefits of quality sleep is more than necessary.
Research shows that poor sleep habits are associated with chronic health problems. To better understand this relationship, American researchers distinguished four types of sleepers: good sleepers, insomniac sleepers, sleepers who catch up on weekends and sleepers who nap. According to researchers, identifying these habits helps predict long-term health.
Nearly 3,700 adults participated in the study published in Psychosomatic Medicine. They self-declared the health of their sleep (regularity, satisfaction, alertness, efficiency, durationduration) as well as the number and type of chronic diseases at times T1 and T2 (between 2004 and 2006, then between 2013 and 2017). Unsurprisingly, being an insomniac sleeper is the worst for health, since it is linked to an increase in the total number of chronic diseases of 28 to 81% at T2 compared to good sleepers. People with low education and the unemployed were more likely to be insomniac sleepers. Being a “catch-up” sleeper was not associated with chronic diseases.
Adopt daily sleep hygiene behaviors
Researchers note that it’s difficult to change your sleep habits over time. Indeed, the majority of participants (77%) kept their stylestyle of sleep between T1 and T2, nap sleepers and sleepers with insomnia being the most stable. According to the team, it is essential to educate people about the benefits of quality sleep. “ It’s an everyday behaviorsaid Soomi Lee, a sleep specialist at the laboratory Sleep, Stress, and Health from Pennsylvania State University. If we can improve sleep almost every day, what results might we see after several months or even years? There are also sleep hygiene behaviors people can adopt to improve their sleep, such as not using a cell phone in bed, exercising regularly, and avoiding caffeine in the late afternoon. »
