Getting enough sleep isn’t just about feeling rested—it may actually help you live longer.
A new study from Oregon Health & Science University found that people who regularly get less than seven hours of sleep may have a shorter life expectancy. The study was published in the journal SLEEP Advances.
Researchers looked at a large national database and compared sleep habits with average life expectancy across different counties in the U.S. They used survey data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collected between 2019 and 2025.
Out of all the lifestyle habits they studied—including diet, exercise, and social connection—sleep stood out as one of the strongest predictors of how long people live. In fact, the only factor more strongly connected to life expectancy was smoking.
Dr. Andrew McHill, the senior author of the study, said he was surprised by how closely sleep was tied to lifespan. He’s a sleep expert and researcher at OHSU and has always believed sleep is important, but even he didn’t expect the results to be so strong.
He said this study shows how critical it is for people to get between seven and nine hours of sleep a night, as recommended by health experts.
The research team included graduate students working in the Sleep, Chronobiology and Health Lab at OHSU’s School of Nursing. They found that, year after year and across almost every state, counties where people got more sleep also had higher life expectancies. The link was clear and consistent.
Although the study didn’t explain exactly why sleep has such a big effect on how long we live, scientists know that sleep affects many parts of our health.
It helps protect the heart, supports the immune system, and keeps the brain working well. Without enough sleep, all of these systems can be thrown off balance, increasing the risk of disease and early death.
Dr. McHill pointed out that people often treat sleep as something that can wait. We might stay up late to finish work, scroll through our phones, or try to catch up on sleep over the weekend. But this study shows that getting regular, good-quality sleep should be a top priority—just like eating well or exercising.
In summary, sleep isn’t just about feeling good the next day. It plays a major role in our long-term health and how long we live. Making sure to get at least seven hours of sleep each night may be one of the easiest and most effective ways to improve your health and add years to your life.
If you care about sleep, please read studies about herb that could help you sleep well at night, and these drugs could lower severity of sleep apnea by one third.
For more health information, please see recent studies that coffee boosts your physical activity, cuts sleep, affects heartbeat, and results showing how to deal with “COVID-somnia” and sleep well at night.
Copyright © 2025 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
