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Updated: Jul 10, 2026
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Multi-Modal Home Sleep Monitoring in Older Adults
Published on: January 26, 2019
Sleep and mortality: a population-based 22-year follow-up study
Christer Hublin1, Markku Partinen, Markku Koskenvuo
1Brain@Work Research Center, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland. christer.hublin@ttl.fi
Sleep
|November 1, 2007
Summary
Both short and long sleep durations are linked to increased mortality risk. This large twin study found higher death rates in individuals sleeping less than 7 hours or more than 8 hours.
Area of Science:
- Epidemiology
- Sleep Medicine
- Public Health
Background:
- Short and long sleep durations have been previously associated with increased mortality.
- Understanding the complex relationship between sleep behavior and mortality is crucial for public health initiatives.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the association between sleep duration, sleep quality, hypnotic use, and mortality in a large, population-based cohort.
- To examine these associations over a 22-year follow-up period.
Main Methods:
- Prospective, population-based cohort study of 21,268 twins from the Finnish Twin Cohort.
- Sleep duration (short <7h, average, long >8h), sleep quality, and hypnotic/tranquilizer use were assessed via questionnaires in 1975 and 1981.
- Cox proportional hazard models were used to calculate hazard ratios for mortality (1982-2003), adjusting for covariates.
Main Results:
- Significantly increased mortality risk was observed for both short sleep (men +26%, women +21%) and long sleep (men +24%, women +17%).
- Frequent use of hypnotics/tranquilizers was also associated with increased mortality (men +31%, women +39%).
- The impact of sleep on mortality varied by age group, with the strongest effects seen in young men.
Conclusions:
- The study confirms complicated associations between sleep patterns and mortality, with elevated risks linked to both short and long sleep durations.
- Sleep behavior, including duration and medication use, represents a significant factor influencing long-term mortality risk.
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