Not Getting Enough Sleep? You Are Likely To Suffer Fractures

Have you been sleeping well lately? A lack of sleep may be linked with increased risk of fractures as per a new study.

The study, published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, found that women who slept 7-8 hours every night had less chances of experiencing falls as compared to women who slept for 5 hours and 10 hours. There was a 25 per cent increase in the risk of falling and suffering from fractured bones.

Shorter duration of sleep was associated with an increased risk of upper, lower limb and central body fractures. However, it’s not linked with an increase in hip fractures.

1,57,306 women from a Women’s Health Initiative were analysed for the study who had an average follow-up time of 7.6 years for falls and an average of 12 years for fractures. The analysis revealed that women who slept for 5 hours every night experienced 10.6 per cent of recurring falls as compared to women who slept 7-8 hours (7 per cent) and women who slept for 10 hours (11.8 per cent).

Dr Jane Cauley, lead author of the study, said:

Falls are an important public health problem among older adults and lead to moderate to severe injuries. Most fractures occur because of falls, and recent evidence shows that mortality from falls in the US is increasing. Even though falls are caused by a number of factors, our paper focuses on a novel risk factor: sleep. Results suggest that interventions aimed at improving sleep may reduce the risk of falls.

Dr Jane Cauley