Trying to get the recommended amount of sleep is a nightmare for millions across the globe. In an awakening study, Australian researchers from Flinders University discovered that nearly one-third of adults worldwide are unable to get seven to nine hours of sleep nightly. Meanwhile, only 15 percent of people managed to sleep within the recommended range for five or more nights a week.
Even among those who did average seven to nine hours of sleep nightly over a nine-month period, about 40 percent of their sleep did not fall within this ideal range.
“This is crucial because regularly not sleeping enough — or possibly too much — are associated with ill effects and we are only just realizing the consequences of irregular sleep,” says study author Dr. Hannah Scott, a researcher at Flinders University, in a media release.
“Clearly getting the recommended sleep duration range frequently is a challenge for many people to achieve, especially during the working week.”
The study utilized data from sleep trackers placed under mattresses, analyzing the sleep durations of nearly 68,000 adults over nine months. The majority of the participants hailed from Europe and North America, providing a broad insight into sleep trends across these regions.
The findings also pointed to an association between sleeping less than six hours a night on average and an increased risk of mortality, alongside various health conditions such as hypertension, obesity, and heart disease. Conversely, sleeping less than seven or more than nine hours was linked to adverse health outcomes, including digestive and neuro-behavioral issues.
The study revealed gender and age-related sleep patterns, with female participants generally sleeping longer than males, and middle-aged individuals recording shorter sleep durations compared to younger or older people.
“Based on these findings, public health and advocacy efforts need to support the community and individuals to achieve more regular sleep within the recommended range for their age,” notes study co-author Danny Eckert, an Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) leadership fellow and director of Sleep Health research at Flinders University.
In addition to the findings on sleep duration, the study highlighted the relationship between regular snoring and hypertension, underscoring the myriad ways in which sleep quality and duration can impact overall health.