Sleep trick increases life expectancy by up to five years: 'It's not just quality and quantity'

Doctors in the United States have uncovered five sleeping habits to help increase life expectancy by nearly five years.

A new study found that following the tricks can add almost five years to a man’s life expectancy, and almost two-and-a-half years to a woman’s.

Dr Frank Qian, co-author of the study and a clinical fellow in medicine at Harvard Medical School said: “If people have all these ideal sleep behaviours, they are more likely to live longer.”

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In a statement, Qian added: “If we can improve sleep overall, and identifying sleep disorders is especially important, we may be able to prevent some of this premature mortality.”

The tips are to get a full seven or eight hours of sleep a night, uninterrupted more often than not.

It’s also advised to fall asleep easily, and have five days a week feeling well rested after sleep.

It’s also recommended to avoid using sleep medications.

Reacting to the study, Dr Raj Dasgupta, an associate professor of clinical medicine at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine said: “We’re talking about not just quality and quantity of sleep, but regularity, getting the same good sleep night after night.”

He added: “Encouraging maintenance of regular sleep schedules with consistent sleep durations may be an important part of lifestyle recommendations for the prevention of heart disease.”

The study has taken four years, with researchers collecting results from over 172,000 people who answered sleep questionnaires between 2013 and 2018.

The data was then compared with National Death Index records to see if sleep behaviour contributed to an early death from any cause.

Other factors were then removed for potential higher risks of dying.

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In a statement, the study said: “Compared to individuals who had zero to one favourable sleep factors, those who had all five were 30 per cent less likely to die for any reason, 21 per cent less likely to die from cardiovascular disease, 19 per cent less likely to die from cancer, and 40 per cent less likely to die of causes other than heart disease or cancer.”

The results showed that men who followed all of the five tips had a life expectancy that was 4.7 years greater than people or had none or only one of the five sleep habits.

The impact was much lower for women, with those who used the five hints gained an additional 2.4 years on their life expectancy compared to those who did none or only one.

Despite some of tricks seemingly harder than others, there are helpful hints at how to train your brain into a better night’s kip.

Tricks designed to improve “sleep hygiene” include making sure you go to bed at the same time most nights, and wake up at the same time most morning – including on weekends.

Cooler and darker environments are also strongly recommended, as well as blocking out noise. Consuming alcohol before bed is a bad idea, as when the liver finishes metabolising the alcohol, experts say your body instinctively wakes up.

A strong bed time route an hour before sleep is advised, with staying away from mobile devices and screens recommended. Instead, meditation, warm baths or anything relaxing is a stronger idea.