People who suffer from chronic insomnia increase their risk of dying prematurely more than three times.
Researchers followed 2,242 residents of Wisconsin for 19 years. The average age of participants was 45. Half were also monitored in the sleep clinic.
128 of the participants died during the course of the study. Researchers found that you are three times more likely to die prematurely if you have trouble falling asleep or going back to sleep if you wake up frequently during the night or too early in the morning.
The study took into account risk factors like age, body mass index, alcohol consumption, smoking, depression or certain diseases like diabetes, asthma and sleep apnea.
These preliminary results are still being studied by researchers.
In the meantime, it is important to remember that sleep is essential to maintaining good health.