What is the association between self-reported sleep duration and quality and the risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality?
Nasal-Breathing Sleep Tape, a meta-analysis (J Am Heart Assoc 2018, PMID 30371228) — self-reported sleep duration >8 hours was associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality: 1.14 for 9 hours, 1.30 for 10 hours, and 1.47 for 11 hours. No significant difference was found for sleep <7 hours, and similar patterns were observed for stroke and cardiovascular disease mortality.
Source: J Am Heart Assoc 2018, PMID 30371228 ↗ · Research map · How Magellan grades evidence · evidence confidence: high
J Am Heart Assoc · 2018 · PMID 30371228 · DOI 10.1161/JAHA.118.008552
Sleeping more than 8 hours per night is linked to an increased risk of death and cardiovascular problems.
The question
What is the association between self-reported sleep duration and quality and the risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality?
What they tested
The study hypothesized that sleep duration and quality may be associated with cardiovascular harm and mortality.
How they did it
A systematic review, meta-analysis, and spline analysis of prospective cohort studies were conducted. Data from identified studies in MEDLINE and EMBASE were extracted. Linear and nonlinear dose-response meta-analysis models, along with DerSimonian-Laird random-effects models of risk ratios, were used to analyze the data.
What they found
Seventy-four studies with 3,340,684 participants were reviewed. Self-reported sleep duration >8 hours was associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality: 1.14 for 9 hours, 1.30 for 10 hours, and 1.47 for 11 hours. No significant difference was found for sleep <7 hours, and similar patterns were observed for stroke and cardiovascular disease mortality. Subjective poor sleep quality was associated with coronary heart disease (risk ratio 1.44) but not with mortality or other outcomes.
| 9 hours | 1.14 | |
|---|---|---|
| 10 hours | 1.3 | |
| 11 hours | 1.47 |
Risk ratios for all-cause mortality associated with self-reported sleep durations greater than 8 hours.
What it means
Divergence from the recommended 7 to 8 hours of sleep is associated with a higher risk of mortality and cardiovascular events. Longer sleep durations may be more strongly associated with adverse outcomes compared to shorter sleep durations.
Limitations
The abstract does not explicitly state limitations of the study.
Where the published abstract does not list limitations, we say so rather than inventing them. Read the full paper on PubMed before drawing conclusions.
The paper at a glance
| Title | Self-Reported Sleep Duration and Quality and Cardiovascular Disease and Mortality: A Dose-Response Meta-Analysis |
|---|---|
| Journal | J Am Heart Assoc |
| Year | 2018 |
| PMID | 30371228 ↗ |
| DOI | 10.1161/JAHA.118.008552 ↗ |
| Topic | Cardiovascular & vascular aging |
Read the source: PubMed record (authors, abstract, full citation) ↗ · Publisher via doi.org ↗
Where Magellan uses this paper
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Nasal-Breathing Sleep Tape
Nasal breathing humidifies and filters air and supports more stable, restorative sleep, while mouth breathing is associated with fragmented, lower-quality sleep. Because sleep quality and duration track with mortality risk, simple aids that improve nightly sleep architecture are a low-cost longevity tool.
Sleep Optimization & Circadian Systems
Sleep is when much of the body's repair, immune regulation and brain 'glymphatic' clearance occurs. Both short and long sleep duration are associated with higher all-cause mortality, so optimising sleep depth and circadian timing is one of the highest-leverage levers for healthy aging.
Molecules & mechanisms in this paper
Each of these is named in the paper’s own words above. Open the monograph for the full mechanism and its other citations.
Cite this page
These citations point at this summary. To cite the original paper with its full author list, use the PubMed record or doi.org.
Magellan Longevity. (2026). What is the association between self-reported sleep duration and quality and the risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality? [Plain-English summary of J Am Heart Assoc 2018, PMID 30371228, DOI 10.1161/JAHA.118.008552]. Magellan Longevity. https://magellanlongevity.com/study/x19.html@misc{magellan_x19,
title = {What is the association between self-reported sleep duration and quality and the risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality?},
author = {{Magellan Longevity}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://magellanlongevity.com/study/x19.html}},
note = {Plain-English summary of PubMed PMID 30371228; DOI 10.1161/JAHA.118.008552; J Am Heart Assoc 2018. Reviewed by Gabriel Radu, DO},
urldate = {2026-08-11}
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