Better Sleep Behaviours Could Extend Life Expectancy
- Major study by Vitality and The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) reveals that adopting consistent positive sleep behaviours can add up to four years to life expectancy
- 90% of people don’t meet optimal sleep patterns; improving habits in just a quarter of them could save the NHS £1.35bn a year
- Obtaining seven hours of sleep per night, and maintaining a consistent bedtime within a one-hour window, can reduce mortality risk by 24% and lower hospital admissions by up to 7%
- Vitality is encouraging adults to treat sleep as a daily habit to support long-term health
New research published by Vitality, the next-generation health and life insurer, and the 'The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) reveals that building consistent positive sleep habits could reduce mortality risk by almost a quarter and add up to four years to an individual’s life expectancy.
With 90% of individuals failing to achieve optimal sleep patterns, insufficient and irregular sleep remains one of the most prevalent and underestimated health risks facing us today. Improving habits in just a quarter of them could save the NHS £1.35bn a year.
Drawing on the world’s largest combined dataset of sleep, and health and life insurance records, the research tracked more than 47 million nights of sleep. The analysis indicates that obtaining seven hours of sleep per night and maintaining a consistent bedtime within a one-hour window can reduce mortality risk by 24% and lower hospital admissions by up to 7%. This reflects the combined effect of achieving both sufficient sleep duration and regularity.
When it comes to sleep duration, a significant number of adults fail to achieve adequate sleep – with one in three sleeping fewer than seven hours per night. Those who regularly sleep fewer than six hours face a 20% higher risk of premature death compared to individuals achieving seven to eight hours.
Chronic sleep loss – noted within the report - raises the likelihood of heart disease, diabetes, depression, and early death, while eroding focus, mood, and productivity. Even short-term sleep restriction can disrupt appetite-regulating hormones and impair glucose control to levels comparable to pre-diabetes.
Bedtime consistency was seen to be an even stronger predictor of sleep-related risk than simply getting enough hours of sleep. This is one of the first analyses to link sleep duration and bedtime consistency with in-hospital claims at scale, reinforcing wider evidence that variability in sleep–wake schedules (social jetlag) undermines health, while regularity is protective against obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Vitality is urging adults to rethink their approach to sleep - treating it as a daily habit that can be influenced to improve their health, rather than a passive activity. The report highlights practical behaviours and actions people can take to improve their sleep:
- Setting a consistent bedtime – helps regulate your body clock and makes it easier to fall asleep, improving sleep quality over time
- Reducing screen use in the hour before bed – blue light exposure and digital content increases mental stimulation, which can delay melatonin release and keep you feeling alert
- Establishing a calming evening routine – this signals to your brain that it’s time to wind down, helping you transition into sleep
- Track your sleep - By using a device or other method to record and understanding how long you sleep for and from what time enables you to better understand your own behaviour and consistency, and where any changes would be beneficial, especially when seen over a longer time period
For most people, poor sleep is less about a disorder and more about routine. Like exercise or diet, sleep is a behaviour that can be measured, practised and incentivised through small, repeatable actions. Because habits tend to layer and build, putting sleep alongside other everyday behaviours – such as physical activity – means that incentives for one (like moving more) can create spillover benefits for others, improving sleep, mood, and long-term health.
Dr Katie Tryon, Deputy CEO at Vitality, says: “Sleep has long been known to be of clinical relevance but it has not been considered to be a daily habit, like physical activity, that can be tracked and improved. For most people, the problem is not pathology, but routine. Reframing sleep in this way shifts the agenda - it makes sleep a behaviour that can be tracked, nudged, and reinforced. Getting to bed 15 minutes earlier every night, or picking up a book rather than watching one more episode can make a significant difference over time to sleep quality – and this data shows just how much the individual and society can benefit.”
Professor Joan Costa-i-Font, Professor of Health Economics at LSE said: “The research makes it clear that better sleep behaviours aren’t just about feeling rested, they’re fundamental to long-term health and wellbeing investment. The subsequent impact on productivity cannot be overstated. This report brings together extensive evidence to show the scale of benefits that improved sleep could deliver. If individuals and organisations act on these insights, the potential impact on the health of their employees and the wider economy is profound.”
Incentivising good health behaviours is at the heart of Vitality’s business. By rewarding people for everyday choices – from moving more to eating well– it helps turn healthy intentions into sustained habits, supporting its overall goal of helping people living longer, healthier lives. For more information on Vitality visit: www.vitality.co.uk