A study published on September 17 in PLOS Medicine by Shengzhi Sun and colleagues from Capital Medical University, China, indicates that higher amounts of REM and deep sleep are associated with lower risks for a range of diseases. In contrast, individuals getting less than five hours of total sleep face significantly elevated disease risks.
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Sleep quality and duration have become a major focus for the National Health Commission in China. The 2026 China Sleep Health White Paper reports that while the average Chinese citizen sleeps about 6.97 hours per night, 23% report sleeping less than six hours. Additionally, only 26% maintain consistent sleep schedules, with sleep disturbances increasing over time, highlighting the importance of studying sleep patterns in relation to health outcomes.
The research utilized data from 95,559 participants in the UK Biobank who wore wrist accelerometers for seven days and nights. Using a deep-learning algorithm, researchers calculated sleep stages (including REM, deep, and light sleep), total sleep duration, and sleep irregularities. Participants were monitored for a median of 8.9 years, and their health records were analyzed against over 1,000 disease outcomes.
The study found that increased REM sleep—about 47.6 minutes on an interquartile range—correlated with lower risks for 83 diseases, including heart failure, dementia, and Parkinson's disease. Meanwhile, greater deep sleep was associated with reduced risks for conditions such as type 2 diabetes and major depressive disorder. Conversely, increased sleep irregularity and wakefulness after sleep onset were linked to heightened risks for various issues, including anxiety and substance use disorders.
Total sleep duration demonstrated a nonlinear relationship with disease risk, with optimal health benefits seen in those sleeping between six to eight hours. Those who sleep under five hours exhibit the greatest vulnerability, being at risk for 37 different conditions. However, the observational nature of this study does not confirm a direct causal relationship between sleep patterns and disease risk.
The authors concluded that maintaining a sleep duration of six to eight hours may lower the risk for multiple diseases, suggesting valuable insights for health promotion practices. Their analysis identified 156 significant associations between sleep patterns and disease incidences following Bonferroni correction, with optimal sleep duration most beneficial for 69 distinct disease phenotypes.
For further reading: Accelerometer-derived real-world sleep stages and risk of incident diseases: A UK Biobank cohort study and phenome-wide association analysis, PLOS Medicine (2026). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1005213.