Race/ethnicity, sleep duration, and mortality risk in the United States

Abstract

Current evidence and professional guidance recommend sleeping between 7 and 9 h in a 24-h period for optimal health. The present study examines the association between sleep duration and mortality and assesses whether this association varies by racial/ethnic identity for a large and diverse sample of United States adults. We use data on 274,836 adults, aged 25 and older, from the 2004–2014 waves of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) linked to prospective mortality through 2015 (23,382 deaths). Cox proportional hazards models were used in multi-variable regressions to estimate hazard ratios for mortality by sleep duration and racial/ethnic identity, controlling for sociodemographic, socioeconomic, and psychological distress variables. We find elevated risks of mortality from any cause for adults who sleep less than 5 h or more than 9 h in a 24-h period after all adjustments. Further, we find evidence that these elevated risks for mortality are more pronounced for some racial/ethnic groups and less pronounced for others. Improved understanding of differences in sleep duration and sleep health can facilitate more effective and culturally-tailored interventions around sleep health, improving overall well-being and enhancing longevity.