Physical Activity, Sleep Duration Linked to Mortality

WEDNESDAY, April 5, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Physical activity (PA) and sleep duration are associated with mortality risk, with a higher volume of PA and meeting recommended moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) guidelines attenuating the adverse effects of short and long sleep duration on mortality, according to a study published online March 29 in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

Yannis Yan Liang, from the Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences in Guangzhou, China, and colleagues performed seven-day accelerometer recording on 92,221 participants (age, 62.4 ± 7.8 years) from the U.K. Biobank to examine the joint association of PA and sleep duration with mortality risk.

The researchers found that 3,080 adults died during a median follow-up of 7.0 years, including 1,074 from cardiovascular disease (CVD) and 1,871 from cancer. A curvilinear dose-response pattern was seen for the associations of PA and sleep duration with mortality risk. Additive and multiplicative interactions were seen for PA and sleep duration on mortality risk. Those without recommended MVPA but having short or long sleep duration had a higher risk for all-cause mortality than participants with guideline-recommended MVPA and normal sleep duration (hazard ratios, 1.88 and 1.69 for short and long sleep, respectively). The detrimental effects of short or long sleep duration on all-cause and CVD mortality risks were attenuated by a higher volume of PA or recommended MVPA.

"Our findings suggest that health promotion efforts targeting both physical activity and sleep duration may be more effective in preventing or delaying premature death in middle-aged and older adults than focusing on one behavior alone," a coauthor said in a statement. "In an ideal scenario, people would always get healthy amounts of both sleep and physical activity. However, our study indicates that getting sufficient exercise may partially offset the detrimental impact of missing a good night's sleep."

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