Good sleeping habits can add years to your life

Research based on over 170,000 people living in the United States found that those who had five healthy sleep factors were less likely to die prematurely.

The healthy sleepers spent between seven and eight hours a night dozing, had difficulty falling asleep no more than twice a week, didn't use any sleep medication, and felt well-rested after waking up at least five days per week.

Among the men and women who had all five quality sleep measures, life expectancy was 4.7 years greater for men and 2.4 years greater for women in comparison to those who had none or only one.

Dr Frank Qian, a clinical fellow in medicine at Harvard Medical School and co-author of the study, said: "If people have all these ideal sleep behaviours, they are more likely to live longer.

"So, if we can improve sleep overall, and identifying sleep disorders is especially important, we may be able to prevent some of this premature mortality."

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