Dec 12, 2025 12:00:00

Factors linked to longevity beyond healthy eating and moderate exercise revealed

Many people know that moderate exercise and a healthy diet are necessary to live a long life. A new study conducted by a research team at

Oregon Health & Science University in the United States has revealed that 'sleep time' is more closely related to lifespan than exercise or diet.

Sleep insufficiency and life expectancy at the state-county level in the united states, 2019-2025 | SLEEP Advances | Oxford Academic
https://academic.oup.com/sleepadvances/advance-article/doi/10.1093/sleepadvances/zpaf090/8373869

Insufficient sleep associated with decreased life expectancy | OHSU News
https://news.ohsu.edu/2025/12/08/insufficient-sleep-associated-with-decreased-life-expectancy

One Critical Factor Predicts Longevity Better Than Diet or Exercise, Study Says : ScienceAlert
https://www.sciencealert.com/one-critical-factor-predicts-longevity-better-than-diet-or-exercise-study-says

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University used a vast national database to explore county-level trends in life expectancy. They used county-level life expectancy data and comprehensive survey data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 2019 to 2025.

Participants self-reported their sleep duration, and those who slept less than seven hours per night were considered 'sleep deprived.' Factors that may affect life expectancy, such as physical activity, employment status, education level, diet, and smoking, were also taken into account in the analysis.

The analysis revealed that poor sleep was more strongly associated with longevity than factors such as lack of physical activity or lack of access to a healthy and adequate diet.

The graph below shows the relationship between various factors and life expectancy, with larger negative values on the horizontal axis indicating a shorter life expectancy. 'Insufficient sleep' is second only to 'Smoking' in its association with longevity, and is more strongly associated with factors such as 'Food Insecurity,' 'Physical Inactivity,' and 'Social Connections.'

'We didn't expect the correlation between sleep and life expectancy to be so strong,' said study co-author Andrew McCill, a sleep physiologist at Oregon Health & Science University. 'We've always known the importance of sleep, but this study really reinforces that point: people should strive for seven to nine hours of sleep whenever possible.'

Because this study is purely observational, it cannot prove a causal relationship between short sleep duration and shorter lifespan, but the results suggest that the amount of sleep you get each night is an important indicator of your long-term health.

Various studies have shown the importance of sleep for health. For example, it has been reported that middle-aged and elderly people who sleep less than five hours a night are at higher risk of chronic diseases , that people who have consistent sleep patterns between weekdays and weekends have slower biological aging , and that lack of sleep weakens immune function .

Science Alert, a science media outlet, states, 'Fortunately, our sleep habits can be modified, at least to some extent, to accommodate family and work responsibilities. It may be worthwhile to stop doomscrolling in bed and to slip in an occasional yoga or tai chi session. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society both recommend getting at least seven hours of sleep each night, but there is also evidence that it may be possible to make up that sleep on weekends if needed.'

Study results show that 'sleeping in on the weekend reduces the risk of death' - GIGAZINE

'This research shows that we need to prioritize sleep just as much as what we eat and how much exercise we do. Getting good sleep not only improves mood, it also extends life,' said McHill.