Research
Mixed
Long sleep duration (excessive) is independently associated with increased mortality risk in the elderly population, likely due to sleep fragmentation and underlying health conditions rather than sleep duration itself.
If you are an older adult sleeping significantly more than recommended, do not assume it is healthy. It may be a sign of underlying health issues or poor sleep quality (fragmentation). Consult a healthcare provider to investigate the cause.
ModerateQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
In the elderly population both short and long sleep are independently associated with increased risk of cardiovascular-related and cancer-related mortality.
Why this rating
Based on a systematic review and meta-analysis, but the paper notes causality needs further investigation.
Source
Sleeping hours: what is the ideal number and how does age impact this?
Jean‐Philippe Chaput et al. · Nature and Science of Sleep · 2018
DOI 10.2147/nss.s163071
narrative_reviewCited 398×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- There is no universal 'magic number' for ideal sleep duration; optimal sleep is individualized based on genetic, environmental, and performance factors rather than a single population-wide recommendation.Good
- Chronic insufficient sleep duration is causally associated with adverse health outcomes including obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and all-cause mortality.Good
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