Scientists at the University of Warwick are warning that getting less than six hours sleep a night might lead to early death.

The Press Association reports that the team led by Professor Francesco Cappuccio – head of the Sleep, Health and Society Programme at the University of Warwick – found that those who regularly had less than six hours’ sleep a night were 12 per cent more likely to die over a period of 25 years than those who slept for between six and eight hours every night.

Early death was also a possibility for those who regularly slept for more than nine hours a night, said the researchers, who reviewed 16 prospective studies across the UK, US , Europe and Asia, which monitored a total of 1.3 million people over 25 years.

During the observation period, more than 100,000 deaths were recorded.

Prof Cappuccio said:

‘Whilst short sleep may represent a cause of ill-health, long sleep is believed to represent more an indicator of ill-health.

‘Modern society has seen a gradual reduction in the average amount of sleep people take – and this pattern is more common among full-time workers, suggesting that it may be due to societal pressures for longer working hours and more shift-work.

‘On the other hand, the deterioration of our health status is often accompanied by an extension of our sleeping time.’

The findings of the study are published in the journal Sleep.

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