Sleeping for less than six hours may cause early death, study finds

Sleeping consistently for less than six hours a night may cause an early death, but too much sleep could also mean problems, according to a study that claims to have found unequivocal evidence of the potential harm from abnormal sleep patterns.

It found that those who generally slept for less than six hours a night were 12% more likely to experience a premature death over a period of 25 years than those who consistently got six to eight hours' sleep. Evidence for the link was unequivocal.

"Whilst short sleep may represent a cause of ill health, long sleep is believed to represent more an indicator of ill health," said Professor Francesco Cappuccio, who led the study and is head of the Sleep, Health and Society programme at the University of Warwick.

"Modern society has seen a gradual reduction in the average amount of sleep people take, and this pattern is more common amongst full-time workers, suggesting that it may be due to societal pressures for longer working hours and more shift-work. On the other hand, the deterioration of our health status is often accompanied by an extension of our sleeping time.

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Man Slept Next To Dead Wife for 5 Years

A Vietnamese man dug up his wife’s body, molded it with clay into a female figure and put it in his bed so he could hug it every night for the past five years.

The man, 55-year-old Le Van from Ha Lam in the central Quang Nam province, is seen below with his wife’s remains and his son.

According to reports, Van began by sleeping upon his wife’s grave after she died in 2003. He said that a year and a half later he decided to dig a tunnel next to his wife’s grave so he could sleep beside her away from the rain and wind.

However, neighbors and local authorities found out about the practice and persuaded Van to stop. Subsequently in November 2004 Van returned to the grave, dug up his wife’s corpse and brought it home, where it remains today.

Van’s son, photographed below with his mother’s corpse, is said to hug her body before going to bed each night.

His father told the Lao Dong newspaper that his neighbours dared not visit him for years, but have since grown more accustomed to the idea and will now pay him a visit from time to time.

“I’m a person that does things differently. I’m not like normal people,” he was quoted as saying. “My wife’s body only passed away but her spirit still accompanies us. I have no fear when it comes to sleeping with her at all.”

Local authorities are said to be planning an inspection of the case because of new sanitation laws that rule a body must be cremated or buried, and that burials cannot be carried out in residential gardens without approval.