AN EARLY bedtime can add years to your life, say scientists.
People get a health boost from good sleep habits like getting a full seven to eight hours, nodding off quickly and sleeping through the night.
GettyA study found healthy sleeping habits slash your risk of dying young from cancer or heart disease[/caption]
Benefits start racking up as early as your thirties.
A study found ticking all the good sleep boxes protected against cancer and heart disease and slashed the risk of dying early by a third.
It added nearly five years to life expectancy compared to people who slept badly.
Dr Frank Qian, from Harvard Medical School, said: “If people have all these ideal sleep behaviours, they are more likely to live longer.
“Even from a young age, if people can develop these good sleep habits it can greatly benefit their long-term health.
“Just as we like to say it’s never too late to exercise or stop smoking, it’s also never too early.
“If we can improve sleep we may be able to prevent some early deaths.”
The Harvard study quizzed 172,321 people with an average age of 50 about their sleeping patterns and tracked their health for four years.
It looked at five key factors:
Sleeping seven to eight hours per night
Drifting off easily on at least five nights per week
Not waking in the night on at least five nights per week
Not using any sleep medications
Waking up feeling rested on at least five days per week
Scoring five out of five added 4.7 years to men’s life expectancy and 2.4 to women’s, compared to people who hit only one or none of the targets.
It reduced the risk of dying during the study by 30 per cent.
People who got top marks had a 19 per cent lower risk of dying from cancer and a 21 per cent lower chance of heart disease death.
Dr Qian revealed his research at the American College of Cardiology conference.
He added: “These findings emphasise that just getting enough hours of sleep isn’t sufficient.
“You have to have restful sleep and not have much trouble falling and staying asleep.”