Mixed
In older adults, short sleep duration (<6 hours) increases all-cause mortality risk, a relationship mediated by elevated inflammatory markers (IL-6, TNF-α, CRP) and chronic health conditions.
If you are an older adult sleeping less than 6 hours regularly, your risk of mortality is higher, largely driven by increased inflammation and existing health conditions. Prioritizing 7 hours of sleep may help reduce these inflammatory markers and associated risks.
Inflammatory markers, lifestyle, and health status explained mortality risk associated with short sleep, while the mortality risk associated with long sleep was explained predominantly by lifestyle and health status.
Why this rating
Large prospective cohort (n=3,013), long follow-up (8.2 years), adjusted for multiple confounders, but observational design limits causal inference.
Source
Association between Sleep Duration and Mortality Is Mediated by Markers of Inflammation and Health in Older Adults: The Health, Aging and Body Composition Study
Martica H. Hall et al. · SLEEP · 2015
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