The way all Americans sleep can be classified into one of four categories, according to a major new study.
And people in two of these groups are at least 30 percent more likely to develop a variety of diseases, including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and depression.
Scientists at Penn State College of Health and Human Development tracked the sleep habits of nearly 3,700 participants over a 10-year period.
Using historical national data, Research on midlife in the United States (MIDUS) investigated how middle-aged participants rated their sleep between 2004 and 2014.
They were trying to understand how people’s sleep patterns change as they age and how this relates to the development of chronic diseases.
The Penn State analysis showed that each participant fell into one of four different categories: heavy sleepers, weekend sleepers, insomniacs, and nappers. .
Good sleepers reported having longer, more stable sleep, being satisfied with their sleep, and feeling more awake during the day.
Weekend catch-up sleepers are people who sleep irregularly or briefly during the week, but sleep longer on the weekends.
More than half of the participants fell into the two worst sleep categories: insomnia and napping.
People who slept with insomnia had more trouble falling asleep and slept less overall than other cohorts. People with insomnia reported feeling more tired during the day and feeling less satisfied with their sleep.
The last sleep category identified was napping. Although these participants slept fairly consistently at night, they reported taking frequent naps during the day.
Next, the Penn State team looked at patterns in disease risk among different sleep groups. They controlled for other factors such as underlying health conditions, socio-economic factors, and work environment.
Shocking graphics show the effects of a night’s sleep deprivation. This can reduce brain function, affect concentration, and fatigue can cause a sharp drop in sex drive.
They found that people with insomnia had a 28 to 81 percent higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, and depression than good sleepers.
Additionally, compared to heavy sleepers, nappers had a 128 percent increased risk of diabetes and a 62 percent increased risk of frailty.
Experts say the latter finding may be due to the fact that napping frequency increased with age.
Previous research We know that getting too little sleep can increase your risk of developing dementia, stroke, heart attack, and liver disease. A research result has been revealed Approximately 83% of people with depression also have insomnia.
According to the CDC, lack of sleep means your body and mind don’t have enough time to repair and recover from the stress of the day, and chronic stress has been shown to be a factor in many illnesses.
It may seem counterintuitive, but doctors also warn about the dangers of getting too much sleep.
According to the study, oversleeping, as seen in the nap group, is associated with an increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, obesity, depression, and headaches. Johns Hopkins University.
Some studies suggest that napping does not induce diabetes, but the opposite is also true. Diabetes can induce fatigue and increase the need for naps.
Although the new study controlled for health conditions, some participants may have been undiagnosed.
Another theory is that nappers tend to have a higher BMI, which puts them at higher risk for the disease, and another is that too much sleep increases inflammation in the body.
People who nap regularly are up to 128 percent more likely to develop diabetes, according to a new study.
Demographic factors also help explain these patterns, said study author Soumi Lee, director of the Penn State Sleep, Stress, and Health Institute.
Unemployed people and people with low levels of education were more likely to fall into the insomniac category, Lee found. previous research Researchers at the University of Glasgow reported similar results, showing that unemployed people tend to sleep worse than employed people.
Here’s the proof, Lee said at the university. press releaseenvironmental factors may play a large role in sleep quality.
“These results may suggest that sleep health is so integrated into our overall lifestyle that it is very difficult to change our sleep habits.
“It may also suggest that people still don’t know about the importance of sleep or sleep health behaviors.”
This also means there may be things you can do to change your patterns and reduce your risk of developing sleep-related problems.
“We need to do more to educate the public about good sleep health.” “There are sleep hygiene behaviors people can do to improve,” she said.
