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There Is No Link Between Insomnia and Early Death, Study Finds (bbc.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the music-to-my-ears dept.

A new report published in the journal Science Direct says there is no link between insomnia and early death. The researchers reportedly "reviewed 17 studies, which covered close to 37 million people, to compile their results," the BBC notes. From the report: This new report goes against what the NHS says, which claims that as well as putting people at risk of obesity, heart disease and type 2 diabetes, that insomnia shortens life expectancy. The NHS recommends things like exercising to tire yourself out during the day and cutting down on caffeine. It also says smoking, eating too much or drinking alcohol late at night can stop you from sleeping well. Other recommendations include writing a list of things that are playing on your mind and trying to get to bed at a similar time every night. "There was no difference in the odds of mortality for those individuals with symptoms of insomnia when compared to those without symptoms," the study says. "This finding was echoed in the assessment of the rate of mortality in those with and without symptoms of insomnia using the outcomes of multivariate models, with the most complete adjustment for potential confounders, as reported by the individual studies included in this meta-analysis. Additional analyses revealed a tendency for an increased risk of mortality associated with hypnotic use."

18 of 58 comments (clear)

  1. Thank god..... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I was up all night worrying about that

  2. A punctualization by OneHundredAndTen · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If anything, what they can claim is that they have been unable to find such a link. An altogether different assertion.

    1. Re:A punctualization by Aighearach · · Score: 4, Informative

      That isn't how numbers work.

      When you're looking for some thing, and you don't know if you find it or not, then you either found it, or were unable to find it.

      For example, I dig a hole in the ground hoping to find a dinosaur bone; I either found it, or didn't find it. And I don't know if there are any dinosaur bones nearby. But if I dig up the whole valley, and sift all the dirt down to bedrock, then I know (with some high degree of certainty below infinity) that there are no dinosaur bones in the dirt layer of that valley.

      They looked at 17 studies covering close to 37 million people. They weren't simply "unable to find" a link; they found that any such link is likely smaller than some tiny value. (while still more than 1/infinity)

      And note that doesn't mean that sleep isn't important to health; it just means that insomnia itself is not a risk factor for death. Is insomnia simply lack of sleep? No.

  3. No link... by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    It just FEELS like you are dead.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:No link... by nospam007 · · Score: 1

      "It just FEELS like you are dead."

      You WISH you were dead, so that you can finally sleep.

  4. Thank God... by Tulsa_Time · · Score: 1

    Now I can get some sleep.....

    --
    5 out of 6 people enjoy Russian Roulette & 6 out of 7 Dwarfs are not Happy
  5. Re:Dementia by hcs_$reboot · · Score: 1

    After 3 months without a minute sleeping, you probably want to kill yourself.

    --
    Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
  6. Re:"Researching" other people's research is so met by alvinrod · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Systematic literature reviews are actually the most useful ways of analyzing some hypothesis. Consolidating results and looking at the entire body of science is what needs to be done. It's certainly possible that they can draw the wrong conclusion, but it's much less likely than any individual study. Any one study might have been badly designed or have an outcome due to chance, but combining the results from multiple studies reduces the likelihood of such errors.

  7. Re:IMPERSONATING ME AGAIN? apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    APK
    GO the fuck AWAY!

    (everybody join in the chanting!)

    APK
    GO the fuck AWAY!

    APK
    GO the fuck AWAY!

    APK
    GO the fuck AWAY!

    APK
    GO the fuck AWAY!

    You don't comment on the topics, you don't contribute anything to the discussion, you're not even interesting. You're just ANNOYING

    GO THE FUCK AWAY

  8. Hypnotic use by Camel+Pilot · · Score: 2

    Additional analyses revealed a tendency for an increased risk of mortality associated with hypnotic use.

    This confirms prior studies that have shown 3 times increase risk of mortality with as little as 18 pills/year of Ambien.

    https://bmjopen.bmj.com/conten...

  9. Who knew? by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1
    People go on mental benders all the time. The "not enough sleep" business is one of them. But that has about run it's course.

    Watching a bit of television, I can assure everyone that the present mental bender is obsessing about how often you shit.

    --
    The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
  10. Now maybe people will shut up by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1
    I sleep between 4 and 5 hours a night. And I take a lot of guff for that. Lectures on how I'm killing myself, blah blah, blah.

    I go to sleep when I'm sleepy, and wake up when I've had enough sleep. Seems simple to me. Who knew? That has to be lot better than lying in bed all upset because you aren't asleep, or drugging yourself to be "healthy".

    Now I do know what sleep deprivation feels like - less than 4 hours, and I feel similar to jet lag - do not like.

    But there seems to be a sort of public fad that people latch onto regarding silly stuff. Sleep is/was one. The big fad at present is obsessing about how often one poops.

    As far as health hazards, I'd bet my bottom dollar that stressing out about how much sleep you get is a lot more destructive than the specific number of hours that some expert has determined is enough.

    Which is all to ask - if you wake up feeling rested after 4 hours, are you an insomniac? I feel zero stress about my sleeping habits.

    --
    The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    1. Re:Now maybe people will shut up by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      TBH, there's a ton of bullshit about how much sleep to get. At the end of the day, if you're waking up naturally and feeling rested and productive through the day, you're probably getting the right amount of sleep for you.

      4-5 hours a night is on the low end, but it's not necessarily unreasonable.

      That's what I always thought. I don't even use an alarm clock. I've had people bitch at me about it to the point I've asked if I should drug myself to get the amount of sleep that they dictate I need.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    2. Re:Now maybe people will shut up by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      >if you wake up feeling rested after 4 hours, are you an insomniac?

      No.

      It's not about number of hours of sleep.

      Insomnia is when you wake up every fucking day with that "jet-lag"

      Nothing nice.

      Exactly. But I've taken shit most of my adult life for my sleeping habits. I note that many of those same people stress over whether they are getting enouigh sleep, taking enough probiotics, and laxatives, and vitamins, and other Corporate Medication BS.

      It's like neurotic people running things.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    3. Re:Now maybe people will shut up by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      I sleep between 4 and 5 hours a night. And I take a lot of guff for that. Lectures on how I'm killing myself, blah blah, blah.

      Do these conversations where you receive all this criticism start with you boasting that you only need 4 hours of sleep a night?

      Because I'm not convinced that people are breaking in to your house, sleep studying you, and then lecturing you. I think it's more likely that you're annoying them into doing so.

      No, they start by people talking about how they can't function without their minimum 8, or how they have to drug themselves in order to get a healthy amount of sleep, or how they are really concerned that they only got 6 hours of sleep a night for a week, and are planning on seeing a doctor to find out what is wrong with them. Its merely conversation among people. I might be asked how much I get, because they notice I'm in really early at times, or I just might note it during the conversation.

      I could really care less about the specifics of how much time I spend sleeping. I do find it annoying when I either get a lecture, or the tack that you take, that I am for some reason boasting. Any concept of that is jealousy on their part. It is just what it is. 4 to 6 hours a night. Its no big deal, and it isn't unhealthy.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
  11. Is this supposed to make me sleep better? by No+Longer+an+AC · · Score: 1

    Because I suffer from insomnia, not fear of early death!

    I'm drinking heartbreak motor oil and Bombay gin
    I'll sleep when I'm dead
    Straight from the bottle, twisted again
    I'll sleep when I'm dead

    Well, I take this medicine as prescribed
    I'll sleep when I'm dead
    It don't matter if I get a little tired
    I'll sleep when I'm dead

    - Warren Zevon

  12. Re:Dementia by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

    Sure, you won't die. You'll just go crazy.

    Today, that gives you an advantage on social media.

  13. An early death ... by allo · · Score: 1

    An early death can spare you many sleepless nights.