Study Shows People Who Sleep 8 Hours Die Sooner than those who Sleep Less
June 20, 2010 by cheryl-clarke
Filed under Society
San Diego: Findings from a recent UCSD study released yesterday have awaken a flurry of controversy.
Findings by UCSD psychiatrist and nationally known sleep researcher Daniel Kripke challenge the long-held recommendations from many health organizations and the National Sleep Federation that people need eight hours of sleep to maintain good health.
The UCSD study analyzed responses that 1.1 million people gave to an American Cancer Study questionnaire in 1982. Six years later their answers were compared with their death rates.
The findings showed that people who regularly slept eight hours were twelve percent more likely to die within the six-year period in which the study took place. The were four to five percent more likely to die than those sleeping six hours. Even those sleeping five hours had lower death rates than individuals who slept eight hours.
And those who sleep for nine or ten hours a day have a mortality equivalent to people who are moderately obese, somewhat more than all the other sleeping groups, the research concluded.
“We don’t know what the causal factors are,” Kripke said in an interview. “But it’s possible that sleeping too much, like eating too much, is bad for your health. And it might be true that a little bit of sleep or sleep restriction, like reducing your diet, could be good for your health.”
The study and it’s findings has been attacked by the “sleep industry” which makes billions of dollars selling drugs to put people to sleep and does not want people to think sleeping less than eight hours is a more healthy lifestyle than their drug-induced sleep…
Namaste
i heard that the instruction of prabhupada that sleeping more than six hours is a general instruction, because every man needs a different portion of sleep the same as every man needs a different portion of food due to his different body,and also in the Vaishnava religion there are two sanctions for sense gratification, sleeping and eating.are you a devotee of Krishna, and do you know anything about this matter?
Yes. If one sleeps more than 6 hours out of 24 he will be in the mode of ignorance so that will make it very difficult to advance in Krishna consciousness. Therefore one should not sleep for more than 6 hours a day.
Madhudvisa dasa
Namaste! Hare krishna!
I have heard since my childhood that one should getup early it is good for health. Today when I read this I understood its real importance. I feel tired after work and I get good long sleep and only after it I again feel to work.
Usually I sleep upto 8 hrs. sometimes less than it for 5/6 hrs. I feel sleepy even after lunch many times. But now I will try to keep control on it.
Swamiji I want ur blessings I want to experience something divine the presence of god’s love,purity & strength within.
Wow. Sleep less? This is dumb–really dumb. Best advice: listen to your body and awake when it wants to, be it four hours or ten. Just let the sun be your guide and turn off the alarm clocks. The people in this study probably slept more because they were sicker from their cancer.
Hi Chris.
Bhagavad-gita recommends that one should not sleep to little and not sleep too much. Sleep is required for the brain to function properly but too much sleep will cause one to be in the mode of ignorance and he will become lazy, slow, dejected, etc. So there is a balance here. Any person who wants to succeed in life, either materially or spiritually, values time, he does not want to waste time. So you will find that successful people do not sleep very much. Because they do not want to waste the time sleeping. In reality sleeping 6 hours a day is sufficient for practically everyone. Of course one may be accustomed to sleep more but just because that is his habit and his body is telling him to sleep 12 hours that is not good for him. So your advice of ‘listening to the body’ is not really very good. Because we are conditioned in so many ways by our past activities and what we are accustomed to doing may not be actually the best thing for us.
So anyone who wants to be successful will try to minimize the sleeping. But the warning is there in the Gita, not to sleep too much and also not to sleep too little. So one has to find the balance by practice.
At least for the followers of Srila Prabhupada he has clearly indicated that sleeping more than 6 hours means you are in the mode of ignorance and honestly if you have six good solid hours of sleep that is very refreshing and completely sufficient within a 24 hour period. It may take some practice to get into the routine of going to bed early and getting out of bed before 4:00 AM in the morning so one is awake and chanting the Hare Krishna mantra during the brahma-muhurta, the most auspicious time of the day, one and half hours before sunrise, but if one actually wants to make spiritual advancement he has to do this. If you ‘listen to your body’ and sleep through the brahma-muhurta then you have lost the great opportunity of performing spiritual activities during this auspicious time.
So if you want to sleep more you can but the result is that you will remain in the mode of ignorance and will not be able to become Krishna conscious. But also not sleeping enough will mean the brain functions will be hampered and also you will not be able to become Krishna conscious… So a balance is required.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
dear SLEEP QUEEN
this is highly imposible as you are 105 and using a computer !!
many regards
SLEEP LESS