Sleeping fewer than 5 hours a night may pose risks to people 50 and over, study says

Adults age 50 and older who don’t get at least five hours of sleep at night are 40% more likely to be diagnosed with two or more chronic diseases, compared to those who sleep for up to seven hours, a new study has found. Researchers with University College London set out to analyze the impact of sleep duration on the health of nearly 8,000 British civil servants, ages 50, 60 and 70, over the course of 25 years. Participants were asked “How many hours of sleep do you have on an average weeknight?” and whether they had been diagnosed with chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disea...