Short sleepers, take note. Researchers at Sweden's Karolinska Institutet analyzed data from 43,880 participants, comparing self-reported lifestyle habits—including sleep duration—with medical records and the Swedish national death registry. Their findings reveal that consistently sleeping less than 5 hours per night elevates the risk of premature death by 52% compared to those getting 7 hours.
Among those sleeping under 5 hours every night (including weekends), the mortality risk climbed to 65%, versus 25% for those averaging around 8 hours. Notably, this heightened risk did not appear in individuals who caught up with extra weekend sleep. "Sleeping longer on the weekends may well compensate for the short nights during the week," the researchers note. However, to validate against prior studies, they recommend repeating the analysis over multiple weeks for greater accuracy.
