People who get less sleep consistently are more likely to die earlier

Question

Sleep is extremely important for the human body. Studies have found that those who get less than six hours of sleep consistently are more likely to die earlier than those who get more sleep.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2010/may/05/sleep-study-premature-death

Comments

I agree with this one hundred percent but my question would be how much earlier exactly do they die. Whats the numbers on average, because sleep is vitally important.

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The article you used seems very good and the study was really interesting however I believe it missed other potential factors that cause sleep loss and even contribute to a quicker death such as any illnesses or diseases, or stress throughout life. As well as how much it will affect your lifespan and if the difference is really such a problem that people will start sleeping more.

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Great comment. I definitely agree. You use a well-trusted source and raise major health concerns like diabetes and the chance of stroke.

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This is a great point. The article you used outlines why sleep is so essential for overall health. It especially goes into depth as to how getting enough sleep also improves good cognitive function, mood, and your physical health.

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Aside from life span there are health concerns that may arise due to lack of sleep. Which may be the main factor on individuals with less sleep lifespan?
source: https://mcpress.mayoclinic.org/healthy-aging/how-quality-sleep-impacts-your-lifespan/

Answer 1

According to the American College of Cardiology, sleep is a big contributor to heart health and overall heath. In an article from the ACC, Nicole Napoli states, "The study found that young people who have more beneficial sleep habits are incrementally less likely to die early. Moreover, the data suggest that about 8% of deaths from any cause could be attributed to poor sleep patterns." This shows that good sleep is essential for optimal health and high quality of life. The article also states, "Among men and women who reported having all five quality sleep measures (a score of five), life expectancy was 4.7 years greater for men and 2.4 years greater for women compared with those who had none or only one of the five favorable elements of low-risk sleep."

Source:

Getting Good Sleep Could Add Years to Your Life

Comments

While I agree that ACC is a credible source for this kind of information, I think your fact check could have gone just a little bit further, to find the specific study that is the source/reference for this ACC article. I've linked said study below for anyone interested. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37831896/

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While I agree with the reliability of this source, and believe this fact-check to be likely accurate, I would have aoppreciated a deeper look into outside factors of the testing subjects. While sleep is very important, how can sleep be the only attributed factor to participants life spans? However, aside from the lack of detail non the study itself and the unacknowledged potential third-variable problem, I think this is a very informed fact-check.

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This is a very well thought out fact-check, and I liked the source you chose to reference because the American College of Cardiology is a trustworthy and safe website. Although, after researching a bit further into the article, the results from the study look to be self-reported. The article states “researchers assessed five different factors of quality sleep using a low-risk sleep score they created based on answers collected as part of the survey.” Studies that rely on self-reports of the participants can lead to skepticism and tend to be unreliable. Other than the method of the study, the article seems to provide similar evidence backing up the original claim.

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I appreciate the use of statistics directly in the fact check instead of just linking somewhere to find them. I definitely agree with the statement that sleep is a very large factor in a persons heart health. instead of using one long quote to prove the point I would dissect the quote and add more personal commentary.

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This is a throughly well done fact check, the support for the claim is reliable. The explanation is well done and clear.

Answer 2

The article mentions a study published in Sleep that analyzed data from 16 studies involving over 1.3 million participants. This large sample size is significant, and the findings do suggest a correlation between sleeping less than six hours and an increased risk of early death, as well as potential risks associated with oversleeping. The claim that individuals who sleep less than six hours are 12% more likely to experience premature death compared to those who sleep six to eight hours is supported by various studies. A 2021 meta-analysis in Sleep Medicine Reviews confirmed that insufficient sleep is linked to increased mortality and health risks, including cardiovascular disease and metabolic disorders. In summary, the article accurately reflects findings from the 2010 study while emphasizing key issues that remain relevant today.

Comments

Going forward, please include source hyperlinks. Thanks!

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Where is the link to the outside article you mentioned? WIthout a link to the other article it is difficult to see if the other article and this article are just citing the same sources.

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While your evidence is great, next time I think you should include a link to the website!!

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Altough you have evidence that supports the claim having a link to the website to be able to fact check would be great!

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You have evidence that the supports the claim but having a link to the website/article to be able to fact check it would be great.

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This is a really well thought put fact check but a link would help a bit as well!

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When discussing lack of sleep it is understandable how problems may arise. Although considering oversleeping as a cause for other problems, you would expect the opposite effect. Could you possibly provide the source? I would like to look further into this study, thank you!

Answer 3

The article from The Guardian claims that sleeping less than six hours per night consistently, is linked to a 12% increased risk of premature death. The study reviewed data from 16 studies with more than 1.3 million participants over 25 years and found a strong association between less than six hours of sleep and a higher risk of early death. It also mentions that sleeping more than 9 hours a day could indicate underlying health issues. This article accurately explains the findings by the study which used a large dataset and long observation period. The study was conducted by The University of Warwick which is a very prestigious college. An article by the NIH (National Center for Biotechnology Information) help explain the findings by Warwick into more depth which show the accuracy of the claim made. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2864873/

Comments

You did well in your factcheck by evaluating the original article and proving its credibility. The source you included also supports the main claim that the article is stating.

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I thought this was a really good factcheck. I really liked that it was short and sweet, got to the point quickly. I also thought that you did a good job of referencing statistics that were stated in the original source and then also finding your own source that also gave the same answers to the question.

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This is a good fact check because you clearly stated the facts about the claim and referenced your source.

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I agree with this fact-check. The article by The Guardian linked a reliable study with the University of Warwick. The only issue I feel the claim was missing was the data stating that sleeping for longer hours can also lead to serious health issues, as well as a higher risk of death. Although I liked that you pointed out how the study used a large dataset and a long observation period, concluding that the evidence is reliable.

Answer 4

According to Sleepfoundation.org, "While a lack of sleep may not directly cause someone to die, the effects of sleep deprivation can build up over time and cause a variety of serious side effects that can impact health and daily life". This shows that while a lack in sleep might not kill you, it is extremely bad for your body health. The danger of sleep deprivation might affect someones mood, energy levels, immune system, heart disease, etc. The original claim that "those who generally slept for less than six hours a night were 12% more likely to experience a premature death over a period of 25 years" is supported by many studies stated in TheGuardian.com. 

Sorces:

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-faqs/can-you-die-from-not-sleeping#:~:text=While%20a%20lack%20of%20sleep,impact%20health%20and%20daily%20life.

Comments

While I have never heard of Sleepfoundation -- I agree with this source/claim and think it was beneficial for them to emphasize the fact that while a lack of sleep may not DIRECTLY CAUSE SOMEONE TO DIE, the EFFECTS of sleep deprivation can BUILD UP OVER TIME. You don't see often in articles that revolve around scientific, clarification that causation does not equal correlation which can lead to potential misinformation.

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I don't think that this fact check is adequate, the source for your fact check is arguably less credible than the source that OP is asking to be checked. The medical board that checks their claims are employed by them, not independently, and the links to mattresses on their website seem to be affiliate links. So it seem like they have some financial interest in their recommendations.

Answer 5

The main claim of this article is that a lack of sleep (less than six hours) could cause premature death. The original source is from a study by the University of Warwick and University of Federico II University medical school where they found that those who consistently slept less than six hours were 12% more likely to die prematurely. There are also other articles covering the same topic. Good sleep is a big contributor to overall-health and there is an obvious link to health and life-expectancy. At first glance the claim appears exaggerated because it leaves out the consistency of sleep habits and health impacts of other factors that can be the root cause of said lack of sleep, but the article uses the source study, same data, and explains the increased health risk of not sleeping enough, therefore I think the article is legitimate. 

https://www.nursingtimes.net/news/public-health/lack-of-sleep-linked-to-early-death-05-05-2010/
 

Comments

This is a decent fact-check. Although what you are saying is true, you only use one source to back the claim. Using multiple reputable sources would help back the claim. It would also make it more trustworthy. More sources mean you have done thorough research, and people are more likely to believe you.

Answer 6

Many other sites have reported using this same claim which leads me to think it's true. This article is 14 years old however the facts still stand true and were concluded from research at the University of Warwick which is a "world-leading" school. Sleeping for less than six hours may cause early death, study finds" in several other articles.

Comments

What other websites have reported this information? Maybe you could include a link to at least one of them or name them next time.

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Would you happen to have the websites or links to the information provided? Including a hyperlink is a great way to allow for others to review the information and make their own judgment on it as well.

Answer 7

The claim by The Guardian that, “Sleeping for less than six hours may cause early death” is true. The study that they reference is a reliable academic journal which makes the same claim while providing the details of the study that backs up their claim that “Those who generally slept for less than six hours a night were 12% more likely to experience a premature death over a period of 25 years than those who consistently got six to eight hours' sleep.” With a quick google search, I was able to find other scholarly sources that make the same claim, such as the National Library of Medicine. (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2856739/) 

Comments

I agree with your claim that the study is true. Also the fact that you mentioned another source is good and makes me believe this information is reliable.

Answer 8

The Guardian article makes the claim that sleeping less than six hours or more than nine hours consistently indicates a higher likely hood in early/premature death while this may sound like an outlandish claim after looking into it appears to be true. The article talks about a study published by sleep and conducted by team from the University of Warwick,  and the Federico II University medical school found in Naples, this study had over 1.3 million participants and was followed up for 25 years. When looking at the data provided by the sleep study there is a correlation that finds that people who sleep less than six hours a week are 12% more likely to die prematurely and those who sleep upwards of 9 are 30% more likely to die prematurely than those sleeping around seven-eight hours a week. Not only did many other news sites report on this but the national library of medicine republished the sleep study.

 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2864873/#:~:text=Pooled%20analyses%20indicate%20that%20short,to%208%20h%20per%20night.

Answer 9

The claim that the Guardian's article is making is that people who get less sleep consistently are more likely to die prematurely, and this is true. The claim is based off of research done by the University of Warwick and Federico II Medical School. After extensive research, researchers at the Universities found that people who consistently sleep for less than six hours a night were 12% more likely to die prematurely than those who consistently sleep 6-8 hours. In addition, the researchers found that people who consistently sleep for longer than nine hours have an increased chance of dying prematurely. Sleep is incredibly important as it is linked to our physical and mental health, and consistently sleeping poorly (both undersleeping and oversleeping) can cause short term issues such as fatigue, mood, and concentration, and long term issues such as an impaired immune system, an increased chance of developing chronic illnesses, and premature death. Professor Francesco Cappuccio of the University of Warwick said, "Modern society has seen a gradual reduction in the average amount of sleep people take, and this pattern is more common amongst 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." He suggests that there are societal factors that cause a lack of proper sleep, and subsequentially, premature deaths.

The study that the claim was based off of is reliable. The study was performed by two well known universities and well qualified people. Moreover, there were around 1.3 million participants, with follow ups for up to 25 years after the study was performed, which proves the validity of the data.

Based on these factors, we can deduce that this claim is true. It was given by a reliable source, and many other articles and journalists agree with the data analysis performed by the researchers at the universities.

https://warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/pressreleases/short_sleep_increases/

https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/publications/sleep-matters-impact-sleep-health-and-wellbeing#:~:text=Sleep%20is%20an%20essential%20and,brains%2C%20not%20just%20our%20bodies.

Comments

This is a very thorough and well thought out response. I like that you highlight the large number of participants in the study as that is a key factor in supporting the validity of the study. Good job on also providing multiple reliable sources that back up this information.

Answer 10

The article from The Guardian claims that sleeping less than six hours a night can increase the chances of premature death by 12%. Studies from WARWICK a peer reviewed source align with what the article is claiming. "The study provides unequivocal evidence of the direct link between both short (less than 6 hours sleep a night) and long (9 hours or more) duration of sleep and an increased chance of dying prematurely, compared to those who sleep 6-8 hours a night on average". Both these claims show that getting 6-8 hours of sleep is most beneficial as anything above or below that can have an effect on your lifespan. "Sleeping consistently for less than six hours a night may cause an early death, but too much sleep could also mean problems".

Comments

I agree with your answer, I think that you provided a credible source and helped me understand your point of view compared to the claim. I liked the quote at the end where you summarized what you wrote above. Sometimes readers can get lost in paragraphs so your summary at the end helped.