New research reveals that irregular sleep patterns, not just how long we sleep, may significantly raise the risk of numerous diseases.
A major international study published in Health Data Science has revealed strong links between sleep patterns and the development of 172 different diseases. By examining objective sleep data from 88,461 adults in the UK Biobank, researchers uncovered compelling evidence that consistent sleep routines, including stable bedtimes and circadian rhythms, play a much larger role in long-term health than previously thought.
The research, led by scientists from Peking University and Army Medical University, tracked participants using actigraphy over an average of 6.8 years. The findings showed that poor sleep habits contributed to more than 20 percent of the risk for 92 diseases.
Among the most striking results, going to bed after 12:30 a.m. (irregular bedtime) was associated with a 2.57 times greater risk of developing liver cirrhosis. Additionally, low interdaily stability, a sign of disrupted sleep-wake cycles, was linked to a 2.61 times higher risk of gangrene.
Rethinking Long Sleep: Myth vs. Reality
Importantly, the study challenges previous claims that “long sleep” (≥9 hours) is harmful. While subjective reports have linked long sleep to stroke and heart disease, objective data revealed this association in only one disease. Misclassification may be to blame: 21.67% of “long sleepers” actually slept less than 6 hours, suggesting that time spent in bed is often confused with actual sleep time.
“Our findings underscore the overlooked importance of sleep regularity,” said Prof. Shengfeng Wang, senior author of the study. “It’s time we broaden our definition of good sleep beyond just duration.”
The team confirmed several associations in U.S. populations and identified inflammatory pathways as a possible biological link. Future research will explore causality and assess the impact of sleep interventions on chronic disease outcomes.
Reference: “Phenome-wide Analysis of Diseases in Relation to Objectively Measured Sleep Traits and Comparison with Subjective Sleep Traits in 88,461 Adults” by Yimeng Wang, Qiaorui Wen, Siwen Luo, Lijuan Tang, Siyan Zhan, Jia Cao, Shengfeng Wang and Qing Chen, 3 June 2025, Health Data Science.
DOI: 10.34133/hds.0161
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2 Comments
As if anyone would choose to sleep poorly, just another huge waste of time and public money that fails to factor-in undiagnosed sub-acute food allergies (e.g., https://www.foodallergy.org/fare-blog/why-we-need-stop-referring-ige-mediated-allergies-true-food-allergies) and/or officially (FDA in the US) food poisoning (e.g., soy, TBHQ and MSG, minimally) which I know, experience-based (as opposed to fatally-flawed inaccurate and incomplete “evidence-based”), can cause frequent insomnia and irregular sleep. If there is a single bad habit involved, it’s ingesting officially approved toxic pseudo-foods within twelve hours of going to bed.
Agreed. The study fails to factor-in a TON of things like chronic pain, sleep disorders, noisy neighbors, chronic health problems, insomnia, etc. etc. It’s yet another study that says healthier people are healthier, and can basically only be used to shame those who have trouble sleeping.