It is widely recognized that sleep plays a crucial role in human health. Research indicates that getting little sleep is comparable only to smoking in terms of negative impact on life expectancy. In addition to influencing mental health and brain activity, the absence of a good night's sleep can affect various aspects of life.
In this context, a new investigation was conducted by Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) in the United States. The study aimed to compare life expectancy in different American regions with the number of hours slept by the respective populations.
The collected data covers the period from 2019 to 2025, seeking to determine whether sleeping more than seven hours—considered the minimum for satisfactory sleep—would have a significant effect on longevity. For adults, the research used seven nighttime hours as a reference point to distinguish sufficient sleep from that classified as insufficient.
The researchers focused on verifying whether the proportion of individuals who slept less than seven hours was correlated with the life expectancy in the distinct regions of the United States. To do this, the study analyzed data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a telephone survey conducted by state health departments across the United States, covering 3,141 American counties.
Furthermore, the team considered several other elements that can influence longevity, such as smoking, sedentary lifestyle, food insecurity, unemployment, education level, access to health insurance, and social ties. A second stage of the analysis also incorporated obesity and diabetes factors.
Analysis Results
The analysis revealed a correlation between the percentage of people with insufficient sleep and life expectancy. Generally, regions where a larger portion of the population slept less than seven hours had a lower life expectancy.
Andrew McHill, an associate professor at OHSU and leader of the study, commented that although he is a sleep physiologist and understands the benefits of rest, the strength of the association between adequate sleep and longevity was remarkable. This relationship was maintained throughout the years examined and persisted even after the researchers adjusted the data to include other health and social variables.
It is important to note that this finding does not prove that sleeping at least seven hours extends a person's life. Since it is a population analysis, the results only demonstrate an association between the two factors, without allowing for the establishment of a direct cause-and-effect relationship. The work thus adds a new dimension to the debate on sleep by observing how the incidence of insufficient sleep in a community relates to a broad health metric, such as life expectancy.