Years of life gained when meeting sleep duration recommendations in Canada

Abstract

Objective: To estimate the years of life gained when meeting the sleep duration recommendations across the adult lifespan.

Methods: Three pieces of information were used to estimate and compare life expectancy at each age of adult life among Canadian adults who did and did not meet sleep duration recommendations: (i) the prevalence of self-reported short sleep duration, recommended sleep duration, and long sleep duration; (ii) the relative risks of all-cause mortality associated with sleep duration obtained from recent meta-analyses; and (iii) the probability of death during each year of life obtained from life tables.

Results: Adults who meet the sleep duration recommendations have an estimated life expectancy at age 20 years that is 1.2 years longer than short sleepers and 2.6 years longer than long sleepers. Differences between men and women were minimal.

Conclusion: Meeting sleep duration recommendations is associated with increases in longevity in Canada.

Keywords: Life expectancy; Long sleep duration; Longevity; Mortality; Public health; Short sleep duration.