Study Links Sufficient Sleep to Longer Life Expectancy

To investigate this connection, researchers utilized a large national database that assessed sleep habits against life expectancy rates at the county level, relying on detailed survey data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collected between 2019 and 2025. The analysis found that sleep was a more influential factor on life expectancy than diet, physical activity, or social isolation, ranking just behind smoking.

Senior author Andrew McHill, Ph.D., noted the unexpected strength of sleep's correlation with life span. He emphasized the importance of aiming for seven to nine hours of sleep nightly, underscoring that while the benefits of sleep are known, this research reaffirms their significance.

McHill and his team, consisting largely of graduate students from the OHSU School of Nursing, discovered that inadequate sleep was a more significant predictor of shortened lifespan compared to dietary or exercise habits. He expressed surprise at the robustness of this association across all analyzed models.

While earlier studies demonstrated that insufficient sleep increases mortality risk, this research notably established clear year-to-year correlations between sleep and life expectancy across every U.S. state.

The CDC defines sufficient sleep as a minimum of seven hours per night, as recommended by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. The researchers observed consistent links between adequate sleep and life expectancy across multiple years and most states.

Although the analysis did not explore the underlying reasons for this correlation, McHill pointed out that sleep is known to affect cardiovascular health, immune function, and cognitive performance.

He concluded that prioritizing sleep is just as crucial as focusing on diet and physical activity. Recognizing sleep's impact on both well-being and longevity may encourage individuals to treat their sleep habits with greater importance.